Madison Keys is faced with a huge task as she begins her 2026 season on the WTA Tour.
Keys will have plenty of points to defend following her incredible triumphs Down Under last year.
The American emerged victorious at the 2025 Adelaide International before securing the first Grand Slam of her career at the Australian Open.
At 29 years of age, she became the oldest first-time women’s Australian Open champion, defeating world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
Now, ahead of her title defences in Melbourne, Keys revealed how she is dealing with the expectations of being the reigning champion.
Madison Keys speaks ahead of her 2026 season on the WTA Tour
In a pre-tournament press conference at the Brisbane International, the US star said: “I mean, I think that obviously after you win a Slam, expectations go up.
“So I think I have played the past year with higher expectations, but there are so many great players, and everyone is playing very, very good tennis right now.
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“So you also know that it’s not solely up to you. I think I’m really just trying to go out and start the year off as best as I can and play some really good tennis. Excited to see how all of the chips fall.
“I don’t think my life changed too much [after winning the Australian Open]. I have spent many, many years on tour now and have had different levels of success.
“Obviously a huge accomplishment, but I wasn’t like Emma or someone like that who kind of went from being in qualies to winning a slam.
“People kind of already knew who I was. I was kind of used to the pressure. It wasn’t a massive change (smiling).”
Madison Keys’ incredible run at the 2025 Australian Open
Keys’ run at the Australian Open last year included four wins over top ten seeds; the first of which came against her compatriot, Danielle Collins.
She beat Collins in straight sets to advance to the fourth round, where she would overcome former Wimbledon champion and sixth seed Elena Rybakina.
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After beating Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals, Keys came out on top against world number two Iga Swiatek to reach her second major final.
In the championship match, Keys split sets with Sabalenka, but ultimately took the third to defeat the Belarusian and finally get her hands on a Grand Slam trophy.
The win saw her climb to seventh in the WTA rankings, and she went even higher in February to achieve a career high of fifth in the world.
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