"It was a lot of tearful conversations" - Madison Keys gets candid about 'perspective' change in her head that led to Australian Open glory

Freshly crowned Australian Open champion Madison Keys has revealed the saddening reality behind her journey to the top. She mentioned how she had to shift her perspective on clinching a Major title despite being 29.

Keys extended her win streak to 12 matches on the quest of winning her debut Grand Slam title. Her dominance kicked off in Adelaide where she secured the title by winning in an all-American showdown against Jessica Pegula.

The WTA star didn't take a pause and extended her lead to the Major title in Melbourne with a hard-fought win over Aryna Sabalenka. She said in her latest appearance on the WTA Insider podcast (2:48):

"It was definitely not a flick of a switch. It was honestly a lot of tearful conversations and I think there was a lot that I don't even think that I recognized that I was putting on myself. There were some times when I was saying things and once I said that and verbalised them, they felt so heavy.

And it was just I don't know how I thought I could have played with all that weight that I was carrying around and having to finally get to the point where I was honest with myself and I put that out there and then I started to actually work through it. Its been just, I think liberating in a lot of ways."

The American became the fourth-oldest player in the Open era to win her debut Major title.

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Madison Keys declares being proud of herself with no dependency on the Australian Open title

Madison Keys At the 2025 Australian Open - Source: Getty

Madison Keys expressed pride in herself after clinching the Australian Open title. Although she cherished securing her debut Major title despite reaching 29, she revealed that the major reason behind her happiness is how she played. She said in her press conference following the staggering win over Aryna Sabalenka:

"It went from being something positive to something that (triggered) a little bit of panic. It started to kind of weigh on me. What if I never do it? If I don't do it, am I considered a failure? I finally got to the point where I was proud of myself and proud of my career, with or without a Grand Slam."

With the win, Keys emerged as an example for the tennis community, demonstrating that age is just a number in the sport.