Renata Zarazúa Becomes First Mexican Woman to Defeat Top 10 at U.S. Open in 30 Years

Renata Zarazúa just made history. On August 25th she beat Madison Keys and became the first Mexican woman to ever defeat a top-10 opponent at the U.S. Open in over three decades. The last one was Angélica Gavaldón, who defeated No. 3 seed Jana Novotná in the round of 16 at the 1995 Australian Open. And she did it all by the smallest of margins.

Zarazúa is ranked No. 82 in the world, while Keys is ranked No. 6.

Down a set and 0-3 in the second, Zarazúa fought back for a 6-7 (10), 7-6 (3), 7-5 win over the reigning Australian Open champion in 3 hours. She will now face France’s Diane Parry for a spot in the third round of the U.S. Open. 

“Coming into the match, I was like… almost crying because I was really nervous,” Zarazúa said after the match.  “But I think the crowd made it so chill for me, so I was loosening up. Thank you guys for staying. I know my game is a bit tricky, so sometimes people get a bit bored.”

This is the biggest win of Zarazúa’s career, and she was just trying not to let the moment pass her by. “Coming in here, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is huge.’ I was just trying to focus on the court basically.” And then, she won. “I just kind of find my way and enjoy it because I knew, when I retire, I am going to be really happy about it.”

It’s much easier to do that when you win, especially when you win and make history in the way Renata Zarazúa did.