In January, Madison Keys was unable to defend her Australian Open title.
Keys defeated Oleksandra Olijnykowa, Ashlyn Krueger and Karolina Pliskova before losing to Jessica Pegula in the fourth round.
Pegula, who is a good friend of Keys’, went on to reach the last four in Melbourne, defeated by eventual champion Elena Rybakina.
How do you rate Jessica Pegula’s chances of ever winning a Grand Slam?
Following their Australian Open exploits, the pair discussed the value of the ‘Career Grand Slam’ on the latest episode of the Player’s Box Podcast.
The Career Grand Slam entails winning all four Grand Slam tournaments at least once; and this feat was achieved by Carlos Alcaraz when he won the Australian Open in January.
Madison Keys’ Career Grand Slam verdict
During the latest Player’s Box Podcast episode, Jessica Pegula began the discussion by saying she would ‘take’ having 10 Grand Slam titles to her name over winning the Career Grand Slam.
Madison Keys then responded: “I would take 10. That is over double! But if you had won eight and won the career Grand Slam. Would you take that? I would do that.”
Pegula then revised her decision, saying: “I think I would career Slam plus four, over 10 in total.”
Nine players in tennis history have completed the Career Grand Slam in women’s singles events. They are: Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Maureen Connolly, Doris Hart, and Shirley Fry.
Iga Swiatek is the active player most likely to add her name to the list. Swiatek has won the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open but is still searching for a first Australian Open title.
In men’s singles events, only six players have completed the Career Grand Slam in the Open Era: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andre Agassi, Rod Laver and Carlos Alcaraz.
Which member of the ‘Big Three’ is Carlos Alcaraz most similar to? Let us know why below👇
Alcaraz became the youngest in history to achieve the feat after defeating Novak Djokovic in the 2026 Australian Open final.
Jannik Sinner could achieve the Career Grand Slam soon
Iga Swiatek will have to wait 11 months for her next shot at winning the Career Grand Slam. Jannik Sinner, meanwhile, could accomplish the feat at the 2026 French Open.
Sinner has won the Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon, meaning only the French Open is missing from his collection.
The Italian had three consecutive championship points in the 2025 French Open final before Carlos Alcaraz launched a stunning comeback to win the title in a final set tiebreak.
If Sinner does win the French Open, he would be the first Italian winner of the men’s singles title since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
Panatta, who was the only man to defeat Bjorn Borg at Roland Garros, defeated Harold Solomon to win the 1976 title.
