BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL

January 9, 2026

Madison Keys

Press Conference

A. SABALENKA/M. Keys

6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Not the result you would hope for today, but how do these matches help you moving forward ahead of the Australian Open and Adelaide?

MADISON KEYS: Yeah, obviously not the result that I wanted today. I feel like there are some things that I can do a little better and execute a little bit better, but still, lots of time here.

Great to get two wins here and to have some good momentum going into Adelaide and hopefully just continue that trend and have a good Australian season.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Like you say, not necessarily the result that you would have wanted and your first loss in Australia since 2023, I think, but you probably don't worry about the record so much as much as having those good matches under your belt. Having a three-setter against someone like Aryna [sic], how valuable is that heading into the AO?

MADISON KEYS: Honestly, it's not really even something that I think of. I think at this point it's just trying to get match-ready and figure tough matches out, which, you know, I was able to get two good ones here.

There are some things today that I felt I was doing a little bit better than the last time we played last year, so definitely some things that improved but still plenty of room for improvement.

Q. Yesterday, the medical timeout, a little bit of treatment on, is it an adductor or groin --

MADISON KEYS: Uh-huh.

Q. -- was that affecting your movement at all today and ongoing?

MADISON KEYS: No, I think it's just first matches back, obviously played a very long match yesterday, so body is just getting used to all of the tough matches again.

Q. The two back-to-back three-setters in just over 24 hours, how are you feeling after that?

MADISON KEYS: Today was straight sets, but the match yesterday was obviously very difficult, and overall feeling pretty good just with how my body held up just to have such a tough match yesterday and be able to still come out and feel pretty good today.

Q. Are you still going to Adelaide?

MADISON KEYS: Yep.

Q. Feeling really confident about defending that one?

MADISON KEYS: Yep.

Q. You had a lot of firsts in 2025 with your first major title and then going to other majors as a Grand Slam champion. Now you're here back in Australia to defend a major for the first time. How much has life changed for you in that context, and how are you feeling about it?

MADISON KEYS: Life hasn't changed all that much. I think it's been a bit different for me winning my first Grand Slam. It's obviously happened much later in my career, and I have had a lot of success already, so I was I think a pretty well-known name already, so I feel like it was much different than some of our most recent Grand Slam champions who have obviously had levels of success but haven't been around for nearly as long.

So I don't think my life has changed all that much, but it's definitely still a huge accomplishment that I'm very proud of. I think at this point in my career, had you told me last year that that was going to happen now, I don't know if I'd believe you, but hopefully there is, you know, many more firsts to come.

Q. Did it feel like a relief at the time or more of just a dream?

MADISON KEYS: Just a dream. I think that's the beauty of tennis is that it's never too late, and as long as you continue to keep believing, then some crazy things can happen.

Q. Your streak in Australia ended today, but are you confident that when you go to Adelaide you can start and repeat the streak that you had in Australia last year?

MADISON KEYS: That's obviously the goal. That would be great (smiling).

Really looking forward to playing again in Adelaide. I have always really enjoyed that tournament. Yeah, hopefully I can gain and then just keep a lot of momentum going.

Q. It's super hot in Southeast Australia at the moment, in Adelaide and Melbourne. Do you think you need to change your preparation in any way, like spend less time on the practice courts or anything like that ahead of the Open, considering the heat?

MADISON KEYS: Probably not. I think that we're kind of always prepared for pretty warm weather, so just learning how to deal with it. I have always, you know, found that the heat never really sticks around too long in that area of the country, so just kind of hang out and wait a few hours, and usually the cold wind blows and we're back to normal.