Madison Keys marked the 10th anniversary of her maiden run to a Grand Slam quarter-final by doing the same at this year’s Australian Open.
The 19th seed disposed of Elena Rybakina 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, to continue her impressive start to the season that has seen her win 11 out of 12 matches played. After reaching the quarter-finals in Auckland, she won her ninth WTA title in Adelaide before entering the Australian Open. At Melbourne Park, Rybakina is the only player to have taken a set off her.
Keys, who is coached by her husband Bjorn Fratangelo, has 30 wins over top 10 players so far in her career with her latest victory being against Jessica Pegula last week in Adelaide. Whilst she is becoming a veteran of the Tour, the American believes she might be playing her best level of tennis yet following a solid off-season training block.
“I think it always feels really good, and I think it really kind of shows that everything you were working on offseason paid off,” she said of her start to 2025.
“It feels great. I didn’t know when I started I’d be almost 30 and still playing at the level that I’m playing and arguably playing maybe even better than I have ever really played.”
“It’s something that I’m not taking for granted and kind of just trying to roll with, and just show some of these young ones that they’ve got many, many, many years left.”
As for her longevity on the Tour, Keys says maintaining some form of routine has enabled her to keep playing. She made her WTA debut in 2009 and played her first Grand Slam main draw two years later at the US Open.
“I think I have had great years and tough years, but for the most part, I think I have had pretty consistent years,” she reflected.
“I think it’s really just been about trying to have fun and just surrounding myself with really good people and enjoying my time on the road.
“It’s hard to live in a hotel all of the time, and I think that’s almost the hardest part of the sport, along with having to go out and compete every single day.
“I think just trying to have some sort of routine everywhere to make it feel a little bit homier and have something to come back to while you’re never home, I think, has probably been the thing that I have been able to do fairly well.”
Keys will next play Elina Svitolina who she leads 3-2 in their head-to-head but the last time they faced each other was back in 2022.