Madison Keys left the tennis world in shock with a first-round loss in the US Open against world No. 82 Renata Zarazua.
Sixth seed player, competing in New York for the first time since becoming a Grand Slam champion, put in a catastrophic display in a 6-7 (10-12) 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 defeat by the Mexican.
The Australian Open Champion made 89 unforced errors, hit 14 double faults and saved just four of the 10 break points she faced.
Following the devastating defeat, Keys noted, "I feel like today for the first time in a while, my nerves really got the better of me, and it kind of became a little bit paralysing."
"You always kind of feel first-round jitters, and as the day is getting closer, you're feeling more and more nervous," she said.
Keys started the season in a remarkable way, beating two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne to win a first Grand Slam title.
However, after reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open, the 30-year-old suffered a surprise third-round Wimbledon exit to 37-year-old Laura Siegemund.
Keys' coach and husband, Bjorn Fratangelo, offered advice and encouragement throughout, at one point saying, "It's just a sport, nothing's riding on the line."
"I want to win, but [I was] just feeling like winning matters way too much. I just couldn't quite separate myself from that," Keys added.
Talking about her slip-ups, the 30-year-old unveiled, "Once you start playing badly, it just kind of all snowballs. I felt like I was just slow, I wasn't seeing things the way that I wanted to, which I feel like resulted in a lot of bad decisions and lazy footwork."
Renata Zarazua secured her first victory against a top-10 player, sparking wild celebrations among the Mexican's support team after the match, which lasted three hours and 10 minutes.
