Madison Keys gets honest about how nervy loss to Serena Williams at US Open set her up for success with valuable life lesson

Madison Keys spoke about how a defeat to Serena Williams at the US Open taught her a valuable life lesson. The match in question is the fourth round of the 2015 edition of the New York Major, which Williams won 6-3, 6-3.

Keys stunned top seed and World No. 1 Sabalenka 3-6, 6-2. 7-5 to become the oldest first-time champion at the Australian Open. It was the American's first Grand Slam title, which also ended the Belarusian's 20-match winning streak in hard-court Majors.

Speaking about her stunning campaign in Australia, which saw her make a Grand Slam final after eight years, Madison Keys recalled a moment from the past that made a lasting impact on her career.

“I think after I lost to Serena at the US Open in the semifinals (it was the round of 16), the biggest thing that I walked away with from that match was thinking I never want to regret not playing the big moments the way that I want to play them ever again. I don't care if I lose, I don't care if I hit the forehand into the back fence, but if I hit it the way that I wanted to hit it and I was going after it, I can live with that. I don't want to live with…I was hands shaking and the ball barely made it over the net or rolled into the net," said Madison Keys while speaking on the WTA Insider podcast (5:40 onwards).

Keys, who has openly spoken about her mental battles and how the little changes she made to her mindset to ensure she doesn't get overwhelmed during tense situations, continued that every tough moment was a learning experience.

"I think there are just little pieces from each tough moment that you take with you and you say, okay, I'm going to learn from this and I'm going to try to not let that happen again,” she said.

Recently, Keys also spoke about how Serena's sister, Vens Williams, had inspired her to pick up a racquet.

Madison Keys changes mindset to win her maiden Grand Slam

Madison Keys with the Australian Open trophy (Image Source: Getty)

Keys had for long put pressure on herself for not winning a Slam despite being among the top players on the Tour. After clinching the Australian Open title, the American revealed that the major differentiating factor was letting go of the burden of not winning a Major.

“I think, I've done a lot of work to no longer need this. I really wanted it, but it was no longer, you know, the thing that was going to define me. And kind of letting go of that burden, I think finally gave myself, I finally gave myself the ability to actually play for it," Keys had said.

Madison Keys has now climbed to seventh in the WTA rankings following her triumph in Australia. She currently has 14 wins out of 15 matches so far in the 2025 season.