'I had to leave locker room when Serena Williams came in - it was so awkward'

Jennifer Brady has recounted the time she bumped into Serena Williams in the dressing room at the French Open. Back in 2016, the former hoped to make a name for herself at Roland-Garros while the latter looked to defend her Grand Slam title.

Brady managed to win each of her opening two matches, but she fell short of qualification after losing to Daniela Hantuchova. Williams, however, went the distance in Paris, losing to Garbine Muguruza in the final.

Speaking on 'The Players' Box' podcast alongside Jessica Pegula, Desirae Krawczyk and Madison Keys, the former world no.13 was asked to share her most embarrassing dressing room moment. Brady, who is inactive but not officially retired, detailed her encounter with the tennis legend.

She said: "I would say at the French Open, I was in the locker room, and you guys know how the space is very small. I was in one of the corners. I was actually next to Serena, and I was cleaning out my locker.

"I had four boxes of laundry, literally two bras and like one pair of shorts in one box, and then it's like four shirts. I'm like, 'Just put it all in one box.' And they give you so many boxes. And I'm in the middle of doing that. And Serena comes in, and I just froze up, and I was like, 'I'm in her way. I have to move.'

"I just literally go stand on the bench, walk over like jump over the bags, and just leave. I never even finished cleaning out my locker. I just had this urge to leave her in her space. Like, I was like so intimidated."

Brady featured five times in the French Open main draw between 2017 and 2021, but she only ever made the third round. Keys, who won her first Grand Slam title at the 2025 Australian Open, was asked to reveal her most embarrassing moment.

The 30-year-old said: "It was a night match. I was like the last person to leave and was packing up my stuff, and I saw like a cockroach go running, and I jumped up on top of one of the benches and started just screaming bloody murder.

"It truly sounded like I was being attacked. And the poor security man outside came running in because I was the only person left, and he's like, 'Are you okay?' And I was like, 'Yeah, it was a bug. Sorry.' And he was like, 'Oh, okay. That's it.' And I was like, 'Yeah, sorry.'"

Keys recently reflected on her season, which has been one of the most successful of her career. In an interview before the WTA Finals, she drew inspiration from Williams and Novak Djokovic.

"Am I fully satisfied? I don't know if any of us ever will be, which is interesting because you hear people like Serena [Williams] or Novak [Djokovic] speak, and they always wanted more," said Keys.

"You look at their careers and think, you did everything. How could you possibly want more? So I think it's just ingrained in all of us to really not be fully satisfied."