“I’m excited to see how all the chips fall”: Madison Keys optimistic about Australian swing

2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys is gearing up for a new season, starting her campaign at the Brisbane International, where she enters as the 5th seed aiming for a strong start in the Australian swing.

Keys begins the season under significant pressure, as she is the player defending the most points at this stage, thanks to her consecutive titles in Adelaide and the Australian Open last year. This adds extra weight, with the risk of losing around 60% of her current ranking points, which could see her drop out of the top 20.

A year ago, Keys opened her season at the ASB Classic in New Zealand, but this time she returns to Brisbane for the first time since 2020, when she lost in the final to Karolina Pliskova.

“I’m really excited. I think there’s obviously a lot of pressure that comes with doing as well as I did last year, but not very many people get to go into the swing as a defending champion,” said the world No. 7. “I’m really just trying to appreciate that and enjoy the position that I’ve put myself in.”

This year, Keys comes in a new category: as a Grand Slam champion and the player with the greatest responsibility in the Aussie swing. “I feel like this week has always been one of those weeks where the field is pretty difficult and tough,” she said. “There aren’t a ton of places for all of us to go and play, so we inevitably all end up in the same place. It happens a few times a year, but I think it always kind of brings out the best in all of us.”

Her mission will not be easy. Keys achieved the best streak of her career last year, starting in Adelaide and winning 16 consecutive matches, including five victories over former top-10 players and wins against Iga Swiatek (No. 2) and Aryna Sabalenka (No. 2) in Melbourne.

“I’ve learned that you can’t ever really replicate what you used to do. That’s a really hard thing to do. The way things unfolded last year, that’s just how they happened. You start every year at zero, and you want to play as well as you can for as many weeks as possible. I’ve definitely tried to start getting away from trying to redo previous years.”

“Obviously, after you win a Slam, expectations go up. I think I’ve played the past year with higher expectations, but there are so many great players and everyone is playing very, very good tennis right now. It’s not solely up to me. I’m really just trying to go out and start the year as best I can and play some really good tennis. I’m excited to see how all the chips fall.”

Keys also revealed that her life has not changed dramatically after winning a Grand Slam: “I don’t think my life changed too much. I’ve spent many years on tour now and had different levels of success. It’s obviously a huge accomplishment, but it wasn’t like Emma or someone else who went from being unknown to winning a Slam. People already knew who I was, and I was used to the pressure, so it wasn’t a massive change.”