Trivia question? Who is the only player to have notched a win over Madison Keys in 2025? That would be 22-year-old Dane Clara Tauson. The World No. 21 stormed out of the gates in January, defeating Keys en route to the Auckland title. More recently she defeated World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka as she powered to her maiden 1000-level final in Dubai. 

At 16-4 on the season Tauson, who will face Mirra Andreeva in the rematch of the Dubai final on Sunday in Tennis Paradise, is on the cusp of her Top 20 debut. She sat down with BNPParibasOpen.com to talk about her current form, what it was like to watch Keys triumph in Melbourne, her new coach and her feelings about facing Andreeva again.

You reached the fourth round at a major for the first time last year at Roland-Garros. Does that moment stay with you, and give you belief? 

Roland-Garros was the highlight of my last season, it wasn’t the greatest season, so right now I’m just happy with the season I’ve put together so far [in 2025], but we’ll see how it ends. 

Yes, it always gives confidence to win matches, but I think I’m in a much better place now than I was at Roland-Garros, and I’m happy with that.

How come you are in a much better place? 

I know I went to the fourth round in Paris, but I think I’m playing much better tennis now. I think I’m stronger physically and mentally – that’s been a big help for me – I do think that I’m a much more complete player right now.

Dubai was great – tell me what that does for you confidence-wise, reaching the final and playing so well

Dubai was great for me. I have to look forward now, but that was a great tournament. I’ve never played those kinds of matches, six days in a row. In the end my body gave up but I’m really proud of the way I fought through the whole week, because I was struggling from day one. I kept going and I kept fighting and that’s really important, and I beat some really good players.

The win over World No. 1 Sabalenka in Dubai, what does that mean to you? 

I think we played a good match at the Australian Open where I really felt that I was close, so this time I told myself if I had any chance I was gonna go for it, and I did. I think I played some of my best tennis that day. I felt like I could read everything that she was doing. 

I do think that’s because we play a little bit similarly, so I was going in the corners where I would hit the ball myself and many times she hit it there, so I think that helped me on that day. Of course she’s a tough opponent and I’m sure the next time we play it will be really hard again.

A win over Keys in Auckland. It must be weird to beat her and to see her win the Australian Open a couple of weeks later 

I almost had tears in my eyes when she won because I really felt like she deserved it and she’s such a great tennis player. You almost can’t find bigger shots than hers, and with her story and everything, it was great to see. Of course I was the only one – I’m still the only one – to beat her. It is great to see, and it really gives you belief that you can do it yourself. I mean she has much more experience than me on those stages. 

It was great to watch, just seeing someone – she’s peaking right now at 30 years old – that’s different in women’s tennis. I don’t know if I would have the mental resilience to do that but it’s really great to see. She was playing unbelievable. 

Top-20 in the live rankings (21 upon entry into the BNP Paribas Open). That must feel good 

Yes, 21 in the rankings right now feels amazing. I couldn’t have dreamt of this when I was doing my preseason, of course I was working hard towards this. Hopefully we’ll see, if I’m Top 20 next week it would be such a great achievement. That’s always something you look to do. 

Top 20 is where the really good players are in the rankings. You can’t find a player there who isn’t at the top of her game. It would be great, but you have to be Top 20 consistently. Of course that’s what I aspire to do, and even higher. 

Your team has changed this year. What’s it like being with Kasper Elsvad and how is it helping your tennis? 

It’s been great. I can’t complain about anything. We’ve had the results, we’ve done the hard work. He keeps me a little bit calm, and I think we are working great. I think he understands the way I want to play and he believes in my game and that’s a nice feeling. It’s really important to have people around you who believe in what you are doing. This week we have one of our friends who is also my hitting partner, who is here as well.

You face Mirra Andreeva next? Tough that it’s so early in the draw. What do you think of her game and what do you think of your chances against her? 

The Dubai final was hard for me because I couldn’t perform the way I wanted to. I left everything I had on court the day before against Muchova. I’m looking forward to it. I really think that I can play some better tennis here and I hopefully have a bigger chance. She’s obviously a great tennis player, and so young. Yeah, I hope I can play some better tennis and see how my level is against her when I’m fit and fresh.

What do you think makes Andreeva so special, that she can have this success at 17? 

I think she’s very determined on court, and she’s such a good mover. She picks up a lot of balls and puts them in annoying places, when you feel like you have the upper hand. She sees the ball very well, you can see in her movement that she knows where people are hitting. 

She plays her game well. I think her backhand is better than her forehand, so she’s always looking for that backhand. She does it really well and she doesn’t make that many mistakes. She’s serving well also. She doesn’t really have any big weaknesses and she’s playing her game very smart.