Madison Keys Still in Disbelief After Accomplishing her ‘Dream’ of Being a Grand Slam Champion at the Australian Open
Madison Keys will kick off her 2026 Australian Open campaign against Oleksandra Oliynykova.
Follow Us
Madison Keys (Image via Queen's Club Championships)
🔍 Explore this post with:
Madison Keys has admitted that she’s still in disbelief about her 2025 Australian Open triumph heading into the tournament this year. Before her victory in Melbourne, she had not played a major final since losing to Sloane Stephens in the 2017 US Open. She needed to wait for another opportunity after seven years and make sure she earned her first Grand Slam.
Keys defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Australian Open last year after beating Iga Swiatek in the semi-final. The American star was outside the Top 10 before her triumph in Melbourne and after it, she was catapulted into the top 5 of the WTA rankings at 29. She became the oldest first-time women’s Grand Slam champion.
She also set a record as the player with the longest gap between her first two Grand Slam finals, her first was in 2017. However, Keys kicked off her 2026 campaign ahead of the Australian Open in Brisbane, where she crashed out in the quarter-finals, with Sabalenka beating her in straight sets.
The former World No.5 also lost to Victoria Mboko in the quarter-finals of the Adelaide International, which she was supposed to defend. She’s seeded ninth at the Australian Open and she’s pressuring herself to defend the title. She’s taking her stride as the defending champion of a major title, an accomplishment many players of her age never achieved.
With the event set to kick off on Sunday (January 18), Keys began reflecting on her triumph last year in Melbourne. She revealed during her press conference that it has been her dream to be a Grand Slam champion, and she was happy to win the title most unexpectedly at the Rod Laver Arena:
Looking back, everything I see seems incredible, I can’t believe it. However, the reality is that I came very close to losing; I had to save some match points. There were many three-set matches, some ugly encounters, although perhaps that makes the result taste even sweeter. It’s incredible to walk through this place; it’s everything you dream of, to be pinched and still be a Grand Slam champion. There’s a really cool photo of me holding the trophy somewhere.
Keys will kick off her 2026 Australian Open title defense against Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine, while Sabalenka will play French wildcard entry Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah in the opening round. Both players are in the same half of the draw at the tournament and are likely to meet in the quarter-finals.
Madison Keys hopes Grand Slam tournaments will reach an agreement with the ATP and WTA top stars
In March last year, a group of top 10 ATP and WTA players sent a letter to the four Grand Slams asking for a meeting to discuss an increase in prize money and other matters. The dialogue was headed by former WTA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Larry Scott. They first met with all four Grand Slam organizers at the French Open, then met again at Wimbledon.
However, some players, including Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek, have noted that the discussions have gone as expected. During the aforementioned press conference, Madison Keys revealed that she’s optimistic that the players and Grand Slam organizers will come to an agreement:
[That] leads me to be carefully optimistic for the future. But I really think it’s in everyone’s best interest to continue to be really good partners to each other. We all need each other. We all want to try to do whatever we can to support each other.
Keys had a good start to the season last year but failed to sustain the momentum. She didn’t reach a Grand Slam semi-final after the Australian Open triumph. This year, she hopes to earn better results in major tournaments, starting with the Australian Open in Melbourne, which begins on January 18.
/techfirstnow/media/agency_attachments/kATjCXskQdJKkXN0OuqW.png)