BNP PARIBAS OPEN

March 4, 2025

Madison Keys

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Madison, welcome back to Indian Wells. Talk us through what you have been up to during the last month since your Grand Slam win at Melbourne.

MADISON KEYS: Yeah, I had a little bit of time at home to kind of reset, get back to practice, do a little bit of rehab and get back to 100%. Really looking forward to starting the swing in the States.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Since your slam, since the Australian Open, there has been some talk about your experience on the tour already for some time.

MADISON KEYS: Guys, we're already starting with that I'm old? Gosh. (Laughter.)

Q. No, it's not about your age. I'm wondering what defines tour elders for you? Is it how long people have been on tour? The personality types? Elder, it's about experience.

MADISON KEYS: "Elder" doesn't scream like "youth"? (Laughter.) I'm teasing. It's fine.

So I started when I was really young obviously on tour. I have now spent over half of my life on this tour. So I don't really take offense to it when somebody calls me a veteran.

I'm starting my 16th year on tour, and obviously it's a little bit different when you start so young because you're not fully on tour yet. You can't play a full schedule yet. But I think it's just more so just because you've been around for a long time, so people have been, you know, talking about me in the pro space for a really long time.

I think we kind of see that, I mean, even in someone like Coco, it feels like she's been on tour for years and years and years already. Someone reminds me she's 20 still, and it blows my mind. I think there's a maturity that happens when you're on the tour as young as we were and we've been around this for so long. So I think it kind of just, there's a level of maturity that happens when you start so young.

I think people kind of forget how young you still are just because they've seen you for a really long time (smiling). You just kind of become a very common name on the tour.

Q. It's been 24 years since an American woman has won this tournament. It seems like this is a year that the American women have a pretty good chance. What do you think about the way that you all are playing entering Indian Wells and that opportunity?

MADISON KEYS: I think that the U.S. women have pretty consistently done really well. And I think right now it's obviously, you know, we're all doing really well. I think it's probably been a little while since there has been so many American women doing as well as they are.

But I'm really excited. I think not only are there the names that everyone obviously knows and are a little bit more established, but there's also a ton of up-and-comers that are doing really, really well.

I would not be surprised if you saw some really great results from the U.S. women.

Q. You've been vocal throughout your career about the pitfalls of social media on particularly the women players. A lot of that stems from gambling in sport. Is gambling good or bad for tennis these days?

MADISON KEYS: I don't think it's a black-and-white answer, just because I think it depends on who you're asking. Obviously there's a lot of partnerships that come from betting. So at the end of the day a lot of the tournaments make a lot of money from the partnerships that they have with betting companies. That's what keeps us having jobs.

So in that way, I can see where it's really beneficial as far as the players on the receiving end of a lot of the betters being very angry. I would say it's obviously not my favorite thing.

So I think it kind of just comes from which side are you looking at. I wish that there was a way to obviously have all of the great benefits that the tournaments get from it with a little bit more protection for the players who are on the receiving end of the betters who are losing money.

Q. First of all, congratulations. In Melbourne you said that you recall that you had a light-bulb moment where you realized you could be real nervous and yet you won and yet you could play good tennis. You also said that you realized that your self-worth wasn't dependent on your winning, and that's why you won. Could you talk about the process, that light-bulb moment, and how things changed for you.

MADISON KEYS: I think there was just a lot of kind of being honest with myself and kind of talking through things, and I think the tough part and the beauty of having to have just really honest conversations with yourself, because I think a lot of times you don't really know why you kind of feel that way or what's going on. But I think just kind of trying to do some introspection and peel back the layers, you start kind of piecing things together.

I think for whatever reason, for a long time, I just had this notion that top players and the players that were winning the big tournaments just somehow are able to kind of turn off their nerves and just not have to deal with them. And I don't know why I had that thought or where I got that from, but that's just kind of how I thought things went.

So for me, when nerves would finally start happening, it was an immediate kind of panic of, well, now I'm not going to be able to play well because people can't win with these feelings. And again, I don't know why that came into my head, but it just kind of took talking through things to finally figure it out, and then just a lot of work. And it's been, I mean, over a year of kind of working through things and getting more and more comfortable on the court, working through that.

So I know for a lot of people it kind of seems like it all kind of happened and it came together, but even through last year, there were a lot of really tough matches where that was something I was actively trying to work on and work through.

Q. To your point earlier, you're one of three Americans in the top 5, which hasn't happened since 2003, 17 in the top 100. Why now, do you think? These are unprecedented almost levels.

MADISON KEYS: I don't know. I guess for me it kind of feels like it's not that different. I feel like I have, throughout my career, have kind of always had a large group of fellow American women who were doing really well. I think we all just really kind of push each other.

I think it's just a really great group of women that I've grown up with that have continued to encourage and push and support each other. I think that there's just a really great group of women right now who, I think when we see each other do well, we're not only extremely excited for them, but with the support and kind of we're all being cheerleaders with each other, I think it just helps push all of us to continue to have some really good success.

Q. I notice you are a big coffee person and you have a great espresso machine. Do you have a ritual that you do? And other than espresso, do you have any other ways of brewing coffee that you love?

MADISON KEYS: My husband and I are of avid coffee drinkers, and it kind of, when we're at home, it's definitely just kind of our routine to start the day.

I always really enjoy it, especially on a weekend when I'm not rushing out of the house to go to practice to actually kind of go through the steps and enjoy it.

But, no, we have basically every way of brewing coffee, so we could open a small coffee shop out of our kitchen. We have the pour-over, the Hario pour-over, we have multiple Moka pots, we have French press. We've got it all. If you're ever in the area and you need a cup of coffee, you can come to our house. (Laughter.)

Q. Madison, has the trophy arrived from Australia? If so, where have you placed it? When you come into a tournament as big as this, the first really big event after the Australian Open, do you feel any different? Are you being approached in a different way?

MADISON KEYS: I actually took the trophy home with me. It made it on multiple flights in one piece, so that was good (smiling).

And I think coming into this tournament, I would be lying if I said that I don't have more expectations after having the start of the year that I do. But, I think at the same time it's really important for me and for my team to remember how we got there and what we were doing. And I think kind of going back to that, and staying really grounded in that is going to be really important.

I think the balance of being honest with my expectations rising, but also knowing that I don't think anyone really thrives when you have such a dramatic mind shift so quickly after success.

So, I think really just trying to go back to what worked and what we were doing and what we were focusing on and continuing to try to keep that mindset.

Q. Where did you place the trophy?

MADISON KEYS: It's very large, so it's currently just sitting in our guest bedroom until we have a proper space for it (smiling).