Saturday, March 8, 2025

Madison Keys

Press Conference

M. KEYS/A. Potapova

6-3, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: Congrats. Can you talk us through the match.

MADISON KEYS: Yeah, I think overall it was a pretty good match. Obviously got off to a good start and let things get a little away from me but able to right the ship pretty quickly. Overall, good day.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Is that a difficulty a bit that you haven't played since Australia, coming back into your first tournament since then with an extended time off? Is there sort of a warmup period in the match that you kind of find your way again?

MADISON KEYS: I think there's always a little bit of nerves when you haven't played, you know, the week before. So I think that's kind of just the norm of kind of having to get your feet wet again and just kind of feel the rhythm.

But I felt like once I was able to and kind of felt pretty comfortable out there, I was able to kind of just run with it and kind of just take the momentum and kind of run with the match.

Q. But you had missed the previous six weeks and then you play the last 10 games, you win 12 out of 15 games. Is momentum overrated?

MADISON KEYS: Was it six weeks?

Q. It was a long time.

MADISON KEYS: It wasn't that long.

Q. No, you sure?

MADISON KEYS: No, I was going to have to go to Doha, like, eight days after I got home.

Q. Okay.

MADISON KEYS: So, I mean, I don't think that obviously momentum is great but I think at the same time being able to kind of reset and have time and be 100% ready is also really important. I think momentum is great, but if you're flying all over the world and you're not 100%, then momentum doesn't really mean anything.

Q. What did it feel like to be introduced -- I don't think you were wearing headphones -- introduced as a Grand Slam champion there for the first time?

MADISON KEYS: Yeah, it's a title I'm getting used to and very happy to be associated with (smiling). It's still something getting used to it a little bit, but definitely a good position to be in.

Q. Did you giggle at all when Andrew said it, or were you just, like, thinking about the match and not paying attention...

MADISON KEYS: Very much thinking about the match at that point (smiling).

Q. A lot of players stay in rental houses instead of hotels. Wondering if you're staying at a house, and if so, how that impacts your daily experience of being here compared to staying at hotels?

MADISON KEYS: I am in a hotel, thinking about doing a house next year (smiling).

Q. Why?

MADISON KEYS: I think it's just being able to have weeks where you can stay in a house, it just feels a little bit more at home. I think especially this kind of swing, there's a lot going on, and it would just be kind of nice to have a little bit more, just like a little bit more of a level of comfort instead of just being in a hotel. We basically live in hotels.

So I think taking advantage of the weeks where you can, where you can have a house and you can kind of pretend that you have a normal life, I think it's really nice to be able to take advantage of that.

Q. You had 28 winners today, you're averaging almost 32. Are you consciously trying to hit more winners or does it just feel that way?

MADISON KEYS: Kind of just happens. Yeah, just happens.

Q. After Australia, was there a day when you suddenly, like, got completely exhausted? Obviously it's kind of a whirlwind, trophy, fly back, doing TV, stuff like that, and then you get back to Orlando and you're home. Did you collapse?

MADISON KEYS: Yeah, there was probably three or four days where I didn't really leave the house, kind of just laid on the couch, was kind of just doing bare minimum, grocery shopping, and then that was kind of the outing of the day.

Yeah, I mean, obviously physically it was a lot, but it's just also mentally and emotionally it's a lot. Being able to kind of just have some days at home and not have to do anything and just be horizontal was really nice.

Q. I wanted to follow up on your wonderful comments on coffee the other day. The tour obviously goes from a lot of great coffee countries, from Australia to Italy. First question is: What's the best coffee country in the world? If you could invite, along with Bjorn, invite someone outside of tennis to come over for a coffee one morning, who would you invite and what kind of coffee would you make?

MADISON KEYS: I definitely think Australia has some of the best coffee in the world. It's very easy to find a good cup there.

Gosh, I don't know. Someone outside of tennis. I'm blanking on every single person that's ever lived. My mom? I don't know. My mom can come over for coffee any time. I know what she likes so she'd be an easy order.

Q. Was today at all tricky? It looked so smooth for you out there. It could be a weird experience coming from what you came from in Australia, January, be back down to earth, play a regular second-round match. Was it easy to take it like any other match?

MADISON KEYS: I think there is obviously a little bit of extra nerves, and that's just kind of the reality of the situation right now.

But I think, being honest with myself and just knowing that that's going to be there, I was able to expect it and kind of know how to navigate that. But, I mean, I think a day like today, after I was able to get off to a good start and then lose a few games in a row, I think once I was able to kind of level the score back, I kind of just settled in and felt a little bit more comfortable out there.

Q. Today being International Women's Day, I think the WTA has led the way a little bit with equal pay and the announcement of maternity leave. Is there anything else that you hope can improve and get better over time?

MADISON KEYS: I think being a female tennis player, we're in a really unique position, because we are pretty much the highest-paid athletes. It's amazing that the WTA now has paid maternity leave.

I think being an athlete and your job is your body and being able to kind of have that peace of mind is an amazing step forward. I'm very, very happy that the WTA has been able to do that.

I'm not 100% sure what else there could be, but if I think of anything, I'll definitely be talking to them about it.

Q. You mentioned the extra bit of nerves that's going to be there for a little while. Do you also have a feeling that, like, you picked the lock and so Maddie has a sense of the codes, or is it you won a bunch of matches in a row, you've won a lot of matches, and you're going to win a lot more?

MADISON KEYS: I don't think that there is ever really a code. I don't think you 100% figure it out. I think that there is things that -- I think there is moments where you get really good at controlling what you can control, and that kind of takes a little bit of pressure and expectation off of you.

But I think we're all human, and I think there is days where sometimes that skill that I feel like I'm slowly developing isn't always as good as I would like it to be, so I think that there is definitely still days where things are going to be harder, and I'm going to have to maybe try a little bit harder to use the tools that I have started being able to learn, but I definitely feel like I'm more well-equipped to deal with the days where things feel a little bit harder.

So in that respect, it's definitely, I feel like I'm kind of learning a little bit more about myself and how to handle some situations, which is great, but I think in the big picture, there is still days where things might not be great or perfect, and there is also days where other people might just beat you.

Q. The tool being control what you can control?

MADISON KEYS: Yeah.