"I wanted to cry!" Renata Zarazua leans on mom before stunning Madison Keys at US Open

NEW YORK — When in doubt, call mom.

That was Renata Zarazua’s go-to move on Monday at the US Open, and it paid off with the first big upset of the tournament: a 6-7(10), 7-6(3), 7-5 victory over Madison Keys.

The 27-year-old Mexican player admitted she was overwhelmed—and nearly in tears—before her first-round match against the reigning Australian Open champion and 2017 US Open finalist, who was competing on home soil.

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“I swear, I don’t know what happened to me today! I was just so nervous before going on court. I woke up, and I just had the urge to cry,” Zarazua told Spanish press after the win.

“It was almost like I was afraid of taking the court, and that’s never happened to me before. I was like, how is this possible? This is what I love to do. How can I transform this fear into something?”

At just 5-foot-3 and ranked No. 82, Zarazua had never gone past the second round of a major. She had lost in the first or second round of all eight previous Grand Slam appearances, including a second-round finish at the 2024 US Open. Facing world No. 6 Keys was another daunting task—Keys had beaten her last year at Roland Garros, and Zarazua carried a 0-6 record against Top 10 players.

The turning point came from a piece of mom’s advice.

“I spoke to my mom and I was almost crying,” she said. “I didn’t want to go on court at all, and I told her that. She said, ‘You have to be the professional that you are. You have to go out there and give everything.’ And I did, but it was very tough to go out there today.”

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Zarazua says most of her family is in New York to support her, except for her brother, who followed the match from home. With their encouragement and her own experience, Zarazua became the first Mexican player to defeat a Top 10 seed at a major since Angélica Gavaldón upset No. 3 Jana Novotná in the 1995 Australian Open.

On the other hand, Keys admitted that nerves went in both directions on Monday: “For the first time in a while, my nerves really got the better of me, and it kind of became a little bit paralyzing,” she said. The match statistics showed it: Zarazua needed just eight winners as Keys piled up 89 unforced errors in the three-hour, 10-minute battle.

Zarazua returns Wednesday seeking her first third-round berth at a Grand Slam. She’ll face France’s Diane Parry in the second round.