Jennifer Brady, the former world no. 13, recently shared an amusing anecdote about a locker room encounter with tennis superstar Serena Williams at the French Open.

The incident took place back in 2016 when Brady was hoping to make her mark at Roland-Garros while Williams was defending her Grand Slam title.

Brady managed to secure victories in her first two matches but fell short of qualifying after a loss to Daniela Hantuchova. Williams, on the other hand, made it all the way to the final in Paris, only to lose to Garbine Muguruza.

During an episode of ‘The Players’ Box’ podcast, alongside Jessica Pegula, Desirae Krawczyk and Madison Keys, Brady was asked to recount her most embarrassing dressing room moment. The tennis pro, who is currently inactive but not officially retired, went on to detail her awkward interaction with Williams.

She recalled: “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.”
Jennifer Brady is currently inactive but not officially retired

“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 competed in the French Open main draw five times from 2017 to 2021, though she never advanced beyond the third round. Keys, who claimed her maiden Grand Slam championship at the 2025 Australian Open, was prompted to share her most mortifying 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.’”.

Keys has recently looked back on her season, which stands as one of her most accomplished campaigns to date. Speaking ahead of the WTA Finals, she cited Williams and Novak Djokovic as sources of motivation.

“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,” Keys remarked. “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.”