Madison Keys is no overnight star. American Keys arrived in Melbourne hoping to make a deep run two times after reaching the event’s semifinal ten years ago and again in 2022. She outclassed Iga Swiatek and two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka en route to becoming the fifth oldest WTA star to lift her first-ever major win at the Rod Laver Arena. Her triumphant feat quickly trended online, inviting multiple star players, including compatriot Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and others, to congratulate her. However, she had yet to receive commendation from American veteran Billie Jean King.

Posing as one of the 29-year-old’s oldest supporters, King appeared on a Zoom Call with ‘SELF’ from her Upper West Side apartment on January 30 and reserved a few words to address the ‘hottest’ topic in American tennis. “I got to text her, tell her, ‘You finally did it!’,” said King on Keys’ Australian Open title finish.

“I’ve known her forever, and I’ve watched her progress through the years and seen how she always wanted to win a major…. I’m so happy for her because she’s such a great person—a very kind, very good person,” she added.

For those unaware, the WTA founder and the organisation’s first President, King, is widely regarded for her activism against pay disparity and achieved equal pay for women at the US Open in 1973.

As for Keys, her Melbourne Slam victory has propelled the American star’s hunger for more success.

Madison Keys acknowledged the learning curve following the Australian Open win

American superstar Madison Keys had to set up all the pieces in the right place to reach where she is. Years of hard work, and creating a healthy coaching dynamic with her husband Bjorn Fratangelo, led to the moment where she was in mere disbelief after winning the Australian Open title against Belarusian Sabalenka.

During a conversation on a recent episode of the ‘WTA Insider’, Keys expressed wanting more as she looks forward to the remaining 2025 calendar season. “I still really wanted to win a Grand Slam. I just didn’t like, I wasn’t like laying in bed at night being like, ‘I’m a failure if I don’t win one anymore’, which is two very different things. At the end of the day, I want to win every tournament that I’m in a draw of. And I feel like I am getting a lot better at that being enough and that being okay.”

“Obviously going to have some bad days still. Obviously going to lose matches that are still tough. But I feel like as long as I can continue to want to win matches and tournaments and not need them, then I think things will be good,” she added.

For now, the American player will look to recover from her demanding two-week Melbourne campaign. She will return to the tour for the clay season, slated to commence in the coming days.