At Australian Open 2025, Madison Keys has defied the odds.
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The 19th seed is the only American women’s singles player to reach the semifinals, outlasting the four countrywomen who sit above her in the world rankings: Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro and Danielle Collins.
She has delivered upsets over the 10th seeded-Collins and sixth seed Elena Rybakina, and on Wednesday, came from a set down to deny 28th seed Elina Svitolina a place in the final four.
Ahead of Keys’ seventh Grand Slam semifinal and third in Melbourne from 11 trips Down Under, the affable 29-year-old knows experience alone won't ensure her continued progress.
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“This is really what they call the business end of the tournament,” said Keys, who will look to topple second seed Iga Swiatek under the bright lights of Rod Laver Arena on Thursday night.
“As much as you have experience in all of that, at the end of the day … you just have to go out and do your best and leave it all out there.
“As long as I can do that, no matter what happens, then I can walk away with my head held high.”
Against Svitolina, Keys charged the net with great success, winning 23 of 26 points. It’s a tactic worth replicating against Swiatek, as the American already knows her best chance of securing victory is through attack rather than defence. Her head-to-head record against the Pole features one win in five meetings, which came on the fast hard courts of Cincinnati in 2022.
“Iga is tough to beat because she has a lot of spin kind of naturally on both sides,” said Keys, crediting the Pole’s serve, return and movement, the latter which enables the No. 2 to easily neutralise points.
“It's really hard to ever really get ahead in a point … for most of us out here, you are not really going to try to out-defend Iga.”
Against the Pole, Keys will almost certainly add to her 21 aces this tournament, which is the most of the four women’s singles semifinalists. Her fastest serve (193km/h) also outpaces the fastest serves from Paula Badosa, Aryna Sabalenka and Swiatek by 1km/h, 3 km/h and 11 km/hr respectively.
While Keys will have crowd support during her semifinal, she’ll also have support from afar thanks to her status as one of the most well-liked players on tour.
At her November wedding to coach Bjorn Fratangelo, Pegula, Sloane Stephens, Jennifer Brady and Taylor Townsend were among friends that travelled to Charleston to help the pair celebrate.
Keys has been quick to shower praise on her friends, and spent time in the locker room in Melbourne congratulating Navarro on triumphing through multiple three-set rollercoasters.
She’s credited Gauff’s maturity, composure and ability to deliver huge results while carrying the weight of a nation’s expectations, all from a young age. And she’s gushed about how much she admires Pegula’s game.
“I tell her all the time, like, “You're the greatest ball striker I've ever seen,” Keys said in Adelaide earlier this month, ignoring the fact that her own ball-striking skills often leave fans slack-jawed.
The 2017 US Open finalist, who earned a ninth title in Adelaide by defeating Pegula, owns 114 victories at a major, the most of the remaining women’s singles title contenders.
With the benefit of hindsight, Keys recognises that she was unable to enjoy some of the biggest matches of her career, describing the pressure as paralysing. One such occasion stands out: the American shed tears in her press conference after losing a US Open 2023 semifinal to Sabalenka in three sets despite leading that encounter 6-0 5-3.
“Tennis has brought so much opportunity to my life,” said the right-hander, who turns 30 next month.
Even without factoring in AO 2025 winnings, she’s amassed over $19 million in prize money and even more in off-court earnings. Off-court, she’s set up a non-profit dedicated to providing kids with access to sports and education, and earlier this month announced a $20,000 donation to the Los Angeles Fire Department for their efforts in fighting blazes across the city she called home early in her career.
“I'm starting to appreciate my career for what it has been, and it doesn't have to have a Grand Slam in order for me to look at it and say ‘I've done a really good job, and I've really left everything out there’,” said Keys.
“While that's obviously still the goal, there have been periods of my career where it felt like if I didn't win one, then I hadn't done enough and I didn't live up to my potential in all of that [and] it took a lot of the fun out of the game.”
On a 10-match winning streak, Keys is now four sets away from a maiden major at AO 2025.
Unburdened from the pressure that has plagued her in the past, she may finally be ready to unlock a new chapter in Melbourne.