Zheng rallies past Keys, Potapova stuns Anisimova at US Open third round on September 5
Zheng Qinwen rallied from a set down to defeat No. 22 seed Madison Keys 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 on September 5, 2026. In the same round, Anastasia Potapova upset No. 10 seed Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 7-5. Both players reached the fourth round of the US Open with dominant performances in the decisive sets.
Zheng Qinwen defeated No. 22 seed Madison Keys 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 on September 5, 2026, at the US Open, mounting a comeback from a set down to reach the fourth round. Anastasia Potapova upset No. 10 seed Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 7-5 in the same round, also advancing to face the field's strongest remaining seeds.
Zheng, ranked No. 121 according to ESPN, arrived at the tournament having undergone elbow surgery and competed through qualifying just to make the main draw. The 2024 Olympic gold medalist for China reached the Australian Open final that same year and had been ranked as high as No. 4, per ESPN. Against Keys, Zheng faced a 5-0 deficit in the third set with Keys holding match point while serving at 5-1, according to ESPN. Keys had just rebounded from losing the second-set tiebreaker to command that lead. Instead, Zheng won the final seven games of the match to complete the rally, per ESPN.
Keys, a past US Open runner-up in 2017 and the 2025 Australian Open champion, arrived at the third round having won a three-set match in the second round in a match tiebreaker while fighting off five match points, per ESPN. During her loss to Zheng, Keys banged her racket into her head repeatedly and pulled off her visor in disgust, per ESPN. After the match, Keys acknowledged the collapse: "I feel like I obviously got off to a really good lead, and then I just got really—I mean, got really scared, like I couldn't swing," according to ESPN. She continued, "Tennis just feels really hard right now."
Potapova, No. 24 seed and 25 years old, was born in Russia but now represents Austria, per ESPN. Reaching the fourth round matched her best showing in a Grand Slam tournament, according to ESPN. Against Anisimova, Potapova converted 6 of 8 break-point chances (75 percent), while Anisimova converted just 3 of 16 (19 percent), per ESPN. Anisimova, the No. 10 seed, made the finals at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2025, falling to Aryna Sabalenka in the latter, according to ESPN. After reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Anisimova was eliminated in the third round of the last three majors this year, per ESPN. Potapova will face No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva, the French Open champion, in the next round, according to ESPN.
Zheng, ranked No. 121 after elbow surgery and competing as a qualifier, defeated No. 22 seed Keys after Keys led 5-0 in the third set and held match point while serving. Potapova converted 6 of 8 break-point chances against No. 10 seed Anisimova, who converted just 3 of 16.
The fourth round of the 2026 US Open now features Potapova against the seeded Andreeva, a matchup between a breakthrough run (reaching her best Grand Slam round) and a seeded favorite. Zheng, who had ranked outside the top 100 weeks earlier, faces another seeded opponent in her next match with a qualifying-to-main-draw-to-fourth-round arc that continues if she advances.
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