Jennifer Brady has shared a story about an awkward encounter with Serena Williams in the locker room at the French Open.
In 2016, Brady was trying to establish herself at Roland-Garros while Williams was defending her Grand Slam championship.
Brady won her first two matches but failed to qualify after being defeated by Daniela Hantuchova. Williams, meanwhile, reached the final in Paris before falling to Garbine Muguruza.
During an appearance on ‘The Players’ Box’ podcast with Jessica Pegula, Desirae Krawczyk and Madison Keys, the former world No. 13 was prompted to reveal her most awkward locker room experience. Brady, who is currently inactive but hasn’t formally announced her retirement, recalled the memorable meeting with the tennis icon.
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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 appeared in the French Open main draw on five occasions between 2017 and 2021, though she never progressed beyond the third round.
Keys, who claimed her maiden Grand Slam championship at the 2025 Australian Open, was prompted to share her most embarrassing experience.
The 30-year-old recalled: “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.'”.
