As Madison Keys prepares for the WTA Finals, she reflects on her transformative 2025 season — a year that brought her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and a renewed appreciation for the journey. The 30-year-old, who last played the season finale in 2016, has evolved personally and professionally since her early 20s. Now married and more self-aware, Keys admits that success feels different as she gets older. After her biggest triumph, she allowed herself to slow down, avoid burnout, and simply enjoy the moment — no small feat amid a packed tennis calendar.
“Oh wow, that’s dramatic,” she laughed in a WTA YouTube interview. “It’s so weird — like The Wizard of Oz. It is as if I’m talking to the wizard behind the curtain while staring at myself. It’s a little strange.”
Humor, honesty, and authenticity
That mix of humor and honesty defines Keys, who has never shied away from showing emotion. “I think people see me pretty accurately,” she said. “I’m not very closed off — I just say what I feel. I’m not good at hiding my emotions or thoughts. My face can be a little too loud sometimes. I just try to be honest and authentic, and I hope people see that in me.”
The best year of her career
Keys calls 2025 “probably the best year” of her career — a season marked by consistency, major titles, and the crowning moment of winning her first Grand Slam. “I’ve had a lot of great tournaments, but winning a Slam is definitely at the top of the list,” she said with a smile. “To do it later in my career is something I’m incredibly proud of. But there’s still that part of me that always wants a little more.”
That restless hunger, she believes, is part of what defines every great champion. “Am I totally satisfied? I don’t know if any of us ever are,” she said. “It’s funny — you hear players like Serena or Novak say they always wanted more. You look at their careers and think, ‘You’ve done everything — how could you want more?’ But I think it’s just built into all of us.”
Finding meaning beyond winning
For Keys, fulfillment now extends beyond trophies. Winning still matters, but so does the process — the effort, the people, the shared moments. “I’ve had so many happy moments on court,” she said. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that most of them aren’t about winning. They’re about enjoying it with the people around me.”
That mindset was shaped early in her career by coach and mentor Lindsay Davenport. “Lindsay once told me, ‘Always enjoy the climb — that’s the fun part,’” Keys recalled. “Tennis keeps you looking ahead because there’s always another tournament. I’ve been trying to get better at pausing, celebrating, and enjoying those moments. I’ve really tried to savor the happy ones more.”
A grounded perspective
Keys’ self-awareness reaches beyond tennis. Asked what she sees when she looks in the mirror, she paused before answering thoughtfully: “When I look in the mirror, I see myself. That’s the one constant — the same person I’ve seen for the last 30 years.”
With maturity, perspective, and humor guiding her, Madison Keys enters the WTA Finals not only as a Grand Slam champion but as a player who has learned to find joy in every step of the climb.