Madison Keys fulfilled her dream of winning a Grand Slam title when she defeated world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the 2025 Australian Open final.
Keys was the clear underdog heading into the match, yet she performed superbly to defeat the Belarusian star 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in the Rod Laver Arena.
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After an impressive 2025 campaign on the WTA Tour, Keys has struggled to recapture her best form at the start of 2026 – suffering multiple early exits at WTA events.
This dip in form has seen the American fall to world number 19.
Despite the drop in form, Keys still has some big goals she wants to achieve.
Madison Keys’ biggest goal for her career
“I would love to win another Grand Slam. Honestly even before that I would love to put myself in position to even do that,” Keys said on the Tennis Insider Club podcast.
“Last year finishing in the top 10, it was a huge goal of mine to make year ends again, so even getting to do that was a thing that I got to check off.
“I just kind of want to play until I don’t want to any more. I am really just trying to enjoy my life on Tour and have a good time on and off the court.
“Figure out how to find a balance of having this amazing life and living the way I want to, and playing good tennis.
“Some weeks it’s harder than others to do that, but I am just not ready to give it up yet.
“I think my biggest goal is just constantly reminding myself why I love playing, why I love being out here and just doing that, until I wake up in the morning and say I don’t want to go anywhere.”
Keys was then asked if she had ever felt that way during her career.
“I think there is only one time, really, but I was also so young,” Keys replied. “I was 21 I think and I had been having the worst wrist pain for over a year. Every time I went to a doctor, they were like there’s nothing wrong you, there’s nothing there, the MRI said it’s fine.
“Then you start questioning yourself over ‘am I crazy’ but ‘I can’t be crazy this hurts so badly’. So it was to a point where I was like I don’t think I can keep doing this.
“I was saying I keep going to doctors and I keep yelling at doctors saying you are missing something, something is wrong.
“So I think that was the only time I was thinking I don’t think I can do it any more. Other than that, tennis has always been like we’re going to keep playing, let’s keep trying!”
Keys had been expected to take part in Roland Garros, which will get underway from May 24.
However, her status at the event is now in jeopardy after she suffered an injury during the final of a WTA Challenger in Paris.
The injury has prevented Keys from participating in the Strasbourg Open, boosting Emma Raducanu’s chances of advancing far in the tournament.
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Is Madison Keys a contender for the Roland Garros title?
Of course, one is assuming that Madison Keys will be fit to participate in Roland Garros when discussing this matter.
Keys remains one of the most talented players on the WTA Tour: a player capable of challenging the very best on her day.
However, her recent performances suggest that she will not be challenging for the Roland Garros title this year.
Keys has failed to impress since reaching the Charleston Open semi-finals.
The American did not participate in Madrid, and then suffered an early exit in Rome at the hands of Nikola Bartunkova.
She then reached the final of the Parisian WTA Challenger, before suffering an injury against home favourite Diane Parry.
Keys also has a relatively unimpressive record at Roland Garros, reaching the semi-final stage just once in 13 attempts.
In fact, Keys has failed to reach the quarter-final stage on 10 of those occasions.
Last year, Keys reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out by eventual champion Coco Gauff.
