"Everyone told me I would never be as good because I was too nice" - Madison Keys on why she refused to be an 'a**hole' to achieve Grand Slam glory

Madison Keys recently appeared on the 'Served Podcast' and engaged in a candid conversation about her career and life with host Andy Roddick. She spoke about how people perceived her and how mental health therapy has been a continuous part of her journey.

She opened up about how some people criticized her for being "too nice" but she strived to maintain her integrity, irrespective of the criticism.

"Everyone always told me I would never be as good as I should be because I was too nice, and that always really pissed me off. I didn't think that you had to be an a**hole to win," she said. (1:37:38 onwards)

"I just really wanted to drive that point home and continue to stand on my morals and how I was raised while being at the top of the game," Madison further added. (1:37:53 onwards)

The 2025 Australian Open champion underlined the importance of advocating for one's mental health and breaking the taboo that surrounds it.

"There are so many athletes helping break the stigma around therapy in sports. For me, I want to continue talking about mental health in sports—showing that you don’t always have to be "tough" and that crying isn’t a sign of weakness," she elaborated. (1:37:09 onwards)

Tennis star Andy Roddick too took the platform to address pressing issues that barred Madison from playing in the Texas ATX Open in 2025.

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Madison Keys will be unable to take part in ATX Open 2025 due to restrictive WTA rules

Madison Keys at the 2025 Australian Open - Source: Getty

The current World No. 7, Madison Keys, will be unable to take part in Texas' ATX Open 2025 to be held from February 22 to March 2 due to a strange WTA tour rule. Keys was preparing for this tournament after her glorious maiden title win at the Australian Open 2025.

But she will not compete due to WTA's policy of only one Top 10 ranked player being able to take part in the tournament. Since her compatriot and World No. six Jessica Pegula had already confirmed her participation earlier, Madison had to pull out of the tourney.

The tennis legend, Andy Roddick, recently slammed the tennis governing body on his podcast while he was in conversation with Keys.

"You are literally weakening the toughest professional tournament business even more, you are diluting it. How are we going to support the smaller markets? It is an act of idiocy that we are having this conversation and that a tournament that is four weeks from now, now what do you do? Tennis is going to tennis. It’s so dumb and short-sighted. Always,” he said. (13:42 onwards)

Madison is the seventh player in the world and is currently enjoying all the attention after her maiden Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open.