When Madison Keys is playing her best, she is among the best ten players on the WTA tour. The issue in her career has been consistency and health. For much of her career, she was the kind of player who could win titles, but never the big ones. That changed in 2025 when she won the Australian Open.
The Charleston Open might not be a Masters event or higher, but it is an important step in the clay-court season. What lies ahead for both the WTA and ATP is the clay-court swing, ending with the French Open, which begins in late May. Keys has twice made the quarterfinals in Paris and the semifinals once.
Her Charleston Open third-round opponent, Anna Bondar, has made the quarterfinals in Paris twice in doubles, but she's never made it past the first round in singles. This might have implied that Keys would basically have a walkover against the Hungarian in Charleston. Not so much.
Madison Keys defeats Anna Bondar at the 2026 Charleston Open
While the American, who has reached a career-high of No. 5 but is currently ranked No. 18, took the first set 6-2, it was mostly because neither player could reach a high level of form, and Keys' floor is much higher than Bondar's. Each accumulated a bunch of unforced errors, but the American played better in the bigger moments of potential breaks of service.
The second set was tighter as each player raised their form a tick. The Hungarian even got an early break, but the American got it back. After which, each player began to hold relatively easily. The match had calmed, as well as Bondar's play.
Serving at 5-all in the second set, though, Bondar struggled with her forehand, falling down a break point. She was able to even the game, but not hold on. Keys hit a fantastic winner to take the game and was able to serve out the match, taking the match 6-2, 7-5.
Madison Keys will next play the resurgent Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals. Unless Keys finds a bit more consistency throughout the match, Bencic could win in straight sets. The winner of that match will take on the winners of the match between surprise quarterfinalists McCartney Kessler and Yuliia Starodubtseva.