Madison Keys has opened up about adjusting to her status as a Grand Slam champion and no longer feeling the need to justify her career.
In January 2025, the 31-year-old American produced a fairytale run at the Australian Open where she defeated Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka en route to the title. At the time, she became the first woman in over a decade to beat the top two seeds at the same major event and the second-oldest woman in the Open Era to win their first Australian Open, after Li Na.
Nearly 15 months have passed since that triumph and Keys is yet to feature in the final of another WTA event. So far this season, she has reached the quarter-finals of two WTA 500s, the fourth round of the Australian Open and the third round of her last two events (Miami and Indian Wells). She is currently ranked 18th in the world.
“It’s been a little bit of a balancing act. It took a lot of work to get to that point, to no longer feel like I needed it to kind of justify my career, and then I got it (a Grand Slam title),” Keys said during an interview with The Tennis Channel.
“Then there were a lot of immediate questions. What do you do next? What do you want next?
“A lot of that pressure kind of came from myself.”
Keys, who is coached by her husband Bjorn Fratangelo, believes she is starting to find her rhythm once again. Next month will mark the 17th anniversary of her Tour debut at the MPS Group Championships in Florida, aged 14. To date, she has won 10 WTA trophies and has played in 50 Grand Slams.
“Finding my new normal has been a little bit more difficult than I anticipated it being,” she admits.
“I think I’m finally really kind of starting to find my stride again and feel very comfortable just readjusting and saying, okay, if I only win one grand slam, that’s amazing too.”
This week, Keys is playing at the Charleston Open, where she is seeded fifth in the draw. In her opening match on Wednesday, she eased past former Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3. She previously won the tournament in 2019 and was also a finalist four years earlier.
Despite her experience and credentials, the American believes the depth of women’s tennis means that there are dangerous opponents for her at every tournament she plays.
“I think it’s really becoming a lot of the little things. Everyone is so good now. I feel like no one really has any sort of glaring weakness,” she said.
“If I don’t hit it (the ball) an inch away from the line, they’re going to hit a winner on me. So it’s really just kind of becoming a little bit better about just those little small things and just being brave.
“Everyone is playing to win. There’s no one really on their back foot hoping that you give it to them anymore. So you really just have to go out and take it. and I think no matter what the surface is, that’s still the case.“
In Charleston, Keys will next play Hungary’s Anna Bondár.
