AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 22, 2026

Madison Keys

Press Conference

M. KEYS/A. Krueger

6-1, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Maddie, congratulations. Back with another win today. Can you just give us your thoughts on your match? Obviously you started off very strong, but your opponent really tested you today.

MADISON KEYS: I think overall today pretty happy. I think I started really well, obviously. I was expecting her to raise her level, which she did.

But I was just really happy that I was able to stay gritty and stay in that second set and be able to get out of it with a straight-sets win.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You said before the tournament you don't feel any different as a Grand Slam champion, but now that you're here being the defending champion, have there been any elements of the experience that have felt different or special compared to another tournament?

MADISON KEYS: It definitely feels very special obviously going out. I feel like I've always had pretty good crowd support here, but I think that's heightened now, which is always very nice but I think still kind of similar.

The emotions are maybe just, like, a little bit more heightened, but it's obviously, it's always been somewhere that I loved playing, and I have had such great memories.

I think in those tough kind of moments like today, getting down in that second set, just kind of reminding yourself that you have been here before, you figured it out. I think when you're able to do that in a place where you have had success, it just feels like it comes a little bit easier.

Q. Do you feel there is something a slam should do for a defending champion that would make the experience more special, like a special locker, special hat or something?

MADISON KEYS: Honestly, the tournament has been absolutely amazing. They have gone above and beyond. I keep seeing my face everywhere, so I really don't need anything else. (Laughter.)

Q. One of the unique things about tennis is that you share a locker room with players you go and play against, and you're rivals. Is that ever an awkward experience, like with the player before or after a match against a player you're facing or you come in a locker room and someone is in tears?

MADISON KEYS: I don't know if I have ever had an awkward experience, but I also think it's hard to answer that question, because I don't really know any other way. I can't really imagine walking into an empty locker room or one that's just my own.

It's definitely, I personally actually quite enjoy it, I think, because even though you're sharing a locker room with your opponents, you're also sharing a locker room with friends. There has been moments where I know that either myself or other players have had really tough moments, and you always have someone around you who can give you a hug and talk you through it, and there is just kind of that immediate support, which I guess other sports have that but it's your own teammates.

So I more so look at it in the sense of it's nice that there's kind of an immediate sense of community versus you're kind of isolated.

Q. In general, there is a belief, it seems like, from hearing from players that maybe the locker room on the WTA is nicer now than maybe it was 15 years ago. Do you think that's the case, or...

MADISON KEYS: Um, maybe (smiling).

Q. Have you ever faced, like, the player who your locker was right next to them and you have to give yourself space in that environment?

MADISON KEYS: I have. 2016 US Open, I was trying to clinch a spot for the Finals, and I was playing Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round, and I lost. It was one of those matches where it was, like, if I had just won it, I would have been way more comfortable, but I lost.

I walked back in, and she was obviously happy because she won, and I was very unhappy because I lost, and I was so stressed, because all of a sudden it was, like, oh, my gosh, I have to win all of these matches in the Asian swing and I felt all this pressure.

I put my bags down and I immediately walked back out of the locker room just to have a little min-TB on my own, but that's kind of the first thought that pops in my head.

Q. This is a pretty sensitive subject, but you're into the second Trump Administration. Tensions in the U.S. are pretty ridiculously high. How do you feel personally about what the Trump Administration has been doing, and how has it felt to you when you have spent time in the U.S.?

MADISON KEYS: I think my stance has been pretty obvious. I think it's pretty obvious where I stand, and I am hopeful that we, as a country, can come together and get back to the values that I think make our country great.

I am not a fan of divisiveness, and I think the beauty of the U.S. is we are a mixing pot, we are very diverse, we are a home of immigrants. I hope that we can get back to those values.

Q. Just on the Player's Box, we have never really had one top active player do a podcast in tennis let alone four of you. Were you all quite keen to be the first in that space? How important do you think it is for fans and others in the tennis world to hear your account of what it's like just living this life right now?

MADISON KEYS: We had talked about it for a really long time, and we just finally decided we might as well do it. I think we kind of spent a lot of time almost trying to make it perfect, but we were finally just saying, Let's just try it and see if people like it. If it sucks and it bombs, we can always just stop.

We wanted to give a little bit of a behind-the-scenes look for players who are still actively playing, and I think it's been really fun to get a lot of the feedback from fans but also from other players. I feel like it's a lot of -- the other women in the locker room tell us that they listen and they love it.

I think in that way it's kind of bonded us all in a little bit of a way, but I think the funny thing that we keep getting from fans is they keep laughing and it's, like, they're, Oh, like, you guys are people. I'm, like, Yeah. I'm glad that we can show you that.

I think it's nice just to kind of -- I think it's humanized us a little bit more, and I think that puts kind of a better context for all of us.

Q. This is about you were talking the other day about the discussions between the players and the Grand Slams, and you were saying the welfare side of thing being the most important. Novak has talked about this juggling kind of tennis politics, you know, that bigger picture with the fact that you're here to win and to do that job. How tricky is that balance?

MADISON KEYS: It's definitely tricky. I spent many years on the player council, as well. When I do things, I want to do them to the best of my ability, so I put a lot of my effort into it.

It is really hard to kind of juggle, because you want to do a good job, and you want to put the time and effort into it. But then that's also one other thing that's taking your focus away from doing your other job.

So it's definitely a balance, but I actually quite enjoyed it. I think it was really important to kind of learn the ins and outs of the sport. Even if I disagreed with why the tournaments would make certain decisions, at least understanding why I think was actually very helpful for me.

But again, sometimes it's very frustrating, and sometimes you don't really know how to do a good job of both. So I think at this point, I have tried to -- I'm obviously not on council anymore, but I still try to be active and know what's going on and always there for just an unsolicited opinion on some things.

But it's a really hard life to balance, and it's easy when you're doing well and things are going great to just say, oh, I've got it all under control, and then you have a few bad weeks, and then it's easy to blame it. But, I mean, it's life. It's difficult.

Q. How involved are you now with those kind of Grand Slam discussions that are going on?

MADISON KEYS: I'm somewhat involved. I'm involved as much as anyone wants me to be (smiling). But I was always really inspired by obviously Billie, is the reason I have the platform and position that I have today, and the fact that she was able to do that while playing has always been very inspirational to me. And also Venus Williams advocating for equal prize money and all that while she was playing.

So they have always been two inspirations of mine that you can be very good at what you do while also trying to help the next generation.

Q. Along the same lines of sort of the political climate in the U.S. and your own involvement at least in tour politics, I recently saw a documentary on Althea Gibson and how people wanted her to be more outspoken than she was. You obviously use your platform with online bullying and mental health and things like that. How do you manage and navigate where you want to put yourself out there? I'm curious to hear your thinking on that.

MADISON KEYS: I think that there's definitely a vulnerability that you have to be okay with when you're putting yourself out there, because the more you put yourself out there, the more you're opening yourself up to criticism and comments.

But I just feel that there are certain things that I feel very strongly about, and like I said, I have been very inspired by people that have come before me who have done what they can to help the next generation, and that's always been something that has been really important to me trying to leave the tour and the world a better place than it was for me.

That's always been something that I have wanted to do, so that's kind of always been my mission. That's kind of my driving force.