AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 20, 2026

Madison Keys

Press Conference

M. KEYS/O. Oliynykova

7-6, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Madison, congratulations. Never easy getting your first win as defending champion. Just talk us through the match and your performance today.

MADISON KEYS: Yeah, I think obviously started a little slow today and definitely nervous, but, I mean, totally props to her, as well.

A little bit more of like an unconventional style. I feel like that made things a little extra tricky at the start. I felt like at the end of the tiebreaker I really kind of found my game and then was able to carry that into the second set.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Those last four points of the first set, can you talk through what it was like to play those from your perspective?

MADISON KEYS: I think at that point I had kind of just felt like I was playing a little bit too passive and timid and just not really taking advantage when I could.

I feel like when I'm playing my best tennis, when I see my opportunities, I go for it. So when I went down -- was it 6-4? When I went down 6-4, I felt like I had at least played the right point, and if I lose points playing that way, then I'm fine with it.

So kind of from that point kind of changed the momentum a little bit for me. Then after that, it was really just I was going to trust myself and go for my shots.

Q. You mentioned her game style. When was the last time you played someone who, I guess for lack of a better word, like, moon balls effectively and well as she does? They were going up with a lot of velocity even sometimes.

MADISON KEYS: Like 12 and Unders (smiling). And that's obviously no disrespect to her at all, but it's just been a really long time to play someone who plays that style, but she does it so effectively.

I feel like her -- because obviously I wasn't able to watch a ton. There wasn't a lot that I could actually find online, but it was kind of deceiving and then having to play the match.

They're so high and they're so deep. It was really hard. I felt like I couldn't really take a swing volley or kind of like take it off of the bounce just because she hits such a good ball off of that.

So I felt like I really kind of just had to wait for the right opportunities. But, no, I was genuinely impressed with how well she's able to hit that ball.

Q. You described the sequence of points that you won in a row to win that first set. I just wondered what was in your mind leading up to that? You've got your first-ever match as the defending champion of a Grand Slam, the eve of that, and then you come out and are playing somebody this unconventional style. I imagine there is a danger of it scrambling your mind. What was going on in your mind?

MADISON KEYS: I think at the start I just felt like I was playing just a little timid and not really trusting my first instinct.

I felt like I kind of kept changing my mind on what I actually wanted to do. I felt like that was really slowing down my footwork as well. I felt like I was reacting instead of having a plan of what I wanted to do.

I think it was, what, 4-Love? I think it was, like, once I kind of got that first game, I kind of relaxed a little bit. And I felt like I was thinking clearly enough, even being down 4-Love, that I was there enough that I could understand what I was doing and how I think I needed to fix it.

I felt like from that moment I kind of was slowly able to, like, piece things together a little bit, and then I felt like the end of that tiebreaker really just kind of solidified things.

Q. Well done today. The last, I guess, four months of last year, or last two months of the season, you were not playing. Was that more to sort of like get yourself together physically or mentally or some combination of both? What does the process of putting yourself back together again look like?

MADISON KEYS: It was more physically. I just felt like I hadn't been able to be 100% healthy kind of the last portion of the season. There was always just something kind of nagging, and I felt like when things got tough, it was just, I wanted to be able to play feeling good.

So I just tried to get back physically feeling good. Then, I mean, unfortunately I got sick at the end of the year, but I felt like being able to kind of regroup and just try to be as physically fit and ready to go as possible was really important.

Q. So was it a matter of more, like, resting or going into the gym and strengthening the areas that were feeling either bad or weak or...

MADISON KEYS: It was more so just having some time to actually, like, actually rehab things. The season gets pretty long, so it's hard to find times where you can continue to maintain your strength and your fitness and just everything that needs to be working the right way.

So I feel like the season kind of just got away from me a little bit, and I wasn't able to kind of find those blocks that I needed.

Q. For all the mental and physical preparation that goes into the lead-up to defending your first slam, how different is it once you're out there on court, or does it all go out the window?

MADISON KEYS: I don't think it all goes out the window. I definitely think that no matter what you think it's going to be like, how you try to prepare yourself, I think when you do all of that, you at least know that you have done your part to be ready for the occasion.

But, I mean, the moment they say, "Ready, play," it kind of all hits you in a way that I don't think you can ever really explain to someone.

But, again, as nerve-racking and as stressful as that can be, I'm still reminding myself of just how few people get to be in that moment, and being able to walk out today and have the crowd be as welcoming as they were, it's, I mean, I'll take the stress any day (smiling).

Q. I saw your serve back in Riyadh. It was probably the most abbreviated I have seen of it, and now it's not. Just curious what the process and thought behind that was.

MADISON KEYS: I was trying to quicken my take-back a little bit, and I think just because I have served so similarly for so long, I've had a harder time getting to the kind of trophy position as quickly as I wanted to.

So the ideal was if I can just abbreviate it and make it super quick, then maybe from there I can go back to kind of reconstructing it.

But, as you know, the season, it's not like we have a ton of time to try things, piece things together. So going into the Finals, I was okay with having something different, and then knowing that I was going to make changes to it.

Q. So the plan was always to lengthen it, and...

MADISON KEYS: Yes.

Q. Do you share some of the concerns raised by fellow players that the prize pool at Grand Slams should be a bigger share of the overall revenue?

MADISON KEYS: I think, from my standpoint, I would say that I would be more concerned about wanting these slams to put in towards player welfare. I think the tours obviously do, and our healthcare, pension, and all that.

I mean, at the end of the day, I think we're all partners, and we all need each other. So I'm more so focused on I would really like to see the slams put their shares towards player welfare.

I mean, I would also like to see it go to prize money, as well, but I think, first and foremost, it should go to player welfare.

Q. Slightly less serious and offbeat session, every woman I know, including my wife, when they show up to a party and someone is else is wearing the same dress they are wearing, it's the biggest nightmare. Do tennis players get annoyed that you guys are all wearing a lot of the same dresses each of these tournaments?

MADISON KEYS: I certainly don't. I think maybe individually people feel differently, but I have kind of always just been fine to wear whatever they tell me to wear.