Shortly after making her debut on the WTA Tour in 2009, Madison Keys became the seventh youngest player ever to win a WTA Tour-level match and the youngest since Martina Hingis (in 1994). Over the years, she transitioned from being a rising star to a superstar, reaching the finals of the US Open in 2017 and then making it to the semifinals of the French Open a year later. However, the biggest success of her career came this year when, at the age of 29, Keys became both the oldest first-time women’s Australian Open champion and the player with the longest gap between their first two major finals in the Open Era. It was her second title of the season (after the Adelaide International). But guess what?

Not only Keys, but several other American youngsters, including McCartney Kessler (Hobart International), Amanda Anisimova (Qatar Open), Emma Navarro (Merida Open), and even Coco Gauff (reached finals in Madrid and Rome), have found success this year. Interestingly, Keys will be facing in-form Gauff in the QF of the 2025 French Open. What was it like facing young Madison, and how does she feel being the elder stateswoman against players like Gauff?

Previously, while talking about the rise of American women’s tennis, Madison Keys said, “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.” Just a few days ago, at the Roland Garros media day, she shared a similar sentiment: “I think the American women, we have had many years of long success with a lot of us being in the top 10 or 20. We have had a large group always. I think that has really helped push all of us to continue to do better. I grew up playing with a lot of these girls, and now there’s even the younger generation.” Other than her and Jessica Pegula’s success (ATX Open and Charleston Open), the youngsters have been pretty much the talk of the town this year in American tennis.

Recently, during an interview at Roland Garros, former tennis player CoCo Vandeweghe reflected on what it was like facing young Madison Keys. The 2025 Australian Open champion recently defeated her compatriot Hailey Baptiste by 6-3, 7-5 in the fourth round. Following the match, Vandeweghe asked Keys, “You’ve been the absolute American k-ller out here. Unfortunately for you, you got Coco Gauff next. You have a better H2H (3-2) against her. What makes you feel? Because when I was playing against you…you were the young up-and-coming American that everyone was afraid of. Now, you’re the elder statesman. What makes you feel when you get that pride going against the other Americans?“

Madison Keys said, “I feel like there are so many great young up-and-coming players that it’s..I’m definitely on the other side of the conversation now. But it’s always hard, especially when you’re playing when they’re younger, and it’s like you know they’re going to come out and they’re going to play their best tennis. So you’re going to have to raise your level as well. But it kind of comes with the territory. It was fun when I got to be the younger player.“

Hearing this, CoCo Vandeweghe quickly jumped in saying, “It wasn’t fun when you would be..those times that certainly wasn’t fun at all. That was rude and mean. You’ve got to take care of your elders, everyone, and she didn’t!“

Interesting Fact: Madison Keys had a 3-0 record against CoCo Vandeweghe.

Now, if we come back to her incredible journey at the 2025 French Open, Madison Keys has now also become the oldest American to reach the quarterfinal in women’s singles at both the Australian Open and the French Open in the same season since Serena Williams (in 2016). Keys’ best record at Roland Garros was reaching the semifinal in 2018. Can she match that record this year? Let’s check out what she had to say after her fourth-round win against Baptiste.

“It’s really never too late” – Madison Keys takes a look back at her tennis journey

Although Madison Keys reached the semifinal of the French Open in 2018, and the last eight the following year, this will be only the second time since then that she’ll be playing in the second week. While sharing her thoughts on this after her fourth-round win she said, “There’s a lot of pressure to kind of immediately make it when you’re a top junior, and I think sometimes you kind of lose the fun of all of it and all of the just amazing experience that you get to have through being a professional tennis player.”

She further added, “I think the biggest thing from all of it is that it’s really never too late. I obviously had a lot of success earlier in my career, and then didn’t quite get across the line until a few months ago. There is really no time limit, and I think a lot of us, as time goes by, and we haven’t gotten it, feel like time is running away. So I think there is no time limit. Anything can happen at any moment.“

Talking about the secret behind her improvement, Madison Keys claimed that her change in mindset has helped a lot to make better decisions at crucial points, but she also believes that she has pushed herself to keep playing in her own way. She claims that previously, she was a bit too cautious and played more defensively at critical moments. Can this change bring her success against Gauff? Time will tell!

But what does she have to say about her next opponent, though? “It’s been really fun, kind of getting to see her (Coco Gauff) do so well at such a young age. Sometimes I feel very old when talking to Coco because she says things, and I’m, like, ‘Yeah, I don’t get that’. So there’s definitely a big age gap that is sometimes shockingly obvious.” 

Who will win this all-American clash? Well, according to Jon Wertheim, “if Madi [Keys] picks apart that forehand or takes advantage of one of these walkabouts or these lapses or Coco’s serve isn’t clicking, then Madi has a real chance here. I think I am going to my first switch. I am thinking Keys [to win].” Do you also think Keys has an edge over Gauff in this match?