Madison Keys matches Serena Williams record with latest Charleston Open victory

Madison Keys may be on the verge of falling out of the WTA Tour top 20, but she’s still considered one of the leading contenders at the Charleston Open.

After failing to defend her 2025 title at Melbourne, Keys slipped down the rankings, losing several spots following her early exit.

Despite that drop, she comes into Charleston as the fourth seed, a position she inherited after Ekaterina Alexandrova pulled out. She began her tournament with a solid win over Donna Vekic.

That victory also saw Keys match a significant milestone in Charleston, drawing level with records set by Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic.

Madison Keys matches Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic record

Keys is no stranger to success in Charleston, having won the title back in 2019, and she’s now matched a long-standing record at the WTA 500 event.

Her straight-sets win over Vekic marked her 22nd career victory at the tournament, putting her level with three other players on the all-time list.

She now shares the record with Williams, Jankovic, and Vera Zvonareva – a mark she has a chance to surpass in her next match.

Williams won this event three times during her career. Jankovic took home one title while Zvonareva reached two finals but never managed to claim the trophy.

Keys will next face Anna Bondár, with the winner going on to play either Sára Bejlek or Belinda Bencic for a place in the quarter-finals.

Clay court success isn’t new for Keys

Keys isn’t usually mentioned among the top clay court players on tour, but her track record on the surface holds up well.

She’s won two titles on clay, one in Charleston and another in Strasbourg, and interestingly, she has a higher winning percentage on clay than on hard courts.

Her 88–49 record gives her a 64% win rate on clay compared to 61% from over 200 more matches played on hard courts.

While most of her career highlights have come away from the surface, one of her three WTA 1000 finals also came on clay—a loss to Williams at the Italian Open in 2016.

Read more: