Rennae Stubbs: Hi, everybody, Welcome to the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. What a treat I have for you all today, the one and only now Grand Slam champion Madison Keys. If I had a clapped thingy that I could afford, I would have done that. But welcome my friend. Wow wow wow. First of all, the first thing I want to say to you is before the Australian Open started, Jessica Pegula has told everybody this. I saw her in the player's concierge at the Australian Open, and I walked up and I said, hey girl, great week last week, you know, way to make it through the finals.
Madison Keys: Good start to the year.
Rennae Stubbs: And she goes, Rennae, if Madison plays anything like she did against me in the third set, she's winning this tournament. And I was like, okay, that's some pretty high praise from you. Sure enough, she was right. So I'm just gonna give Jess all the credit here. No none to you.
Madison Keys: She texted me after a match. I mean we traveled together as well, but she texted me like, I got this long message as we're like meeting at each other at the airport, and she was like, no, you don't understand. You're playing unreal. Like She's like no, no, no, but but you don't get it. It's like unreal tennis. Like just just do that again, Like I can't. She's like, I'm not even like sad that I last, because like that was insane.
Rennae Stubbs: I mean, you know, I've got so many questions when I ask you, but did that did that resonate in you at all? Like hearing it from someone who knows you so well, also knows how you can play, but also as being in the latter part of grand slams, particularly the last one at the US Open.
Madison Keys: I mean, yes and no. I think it's one of those things where I definitely felt like I was playing really well. I feel like I almost played better in Adelaide than I did in Melbourne. I was playing just unreal tennis. Everything just kind of was coming together really easily and just kind of worked my way through the draw fairly simply. But you know, those weeks where you kind of are just like, yeah, like this is just kind of my week. So it was just one of those things where I was like thanks, like, yeah, I've been working hard, but like it was a good week. But it's funny. After I won, she was like, I feel like I'm very happy for you, but I feel she was like, I feel like everyone else is just catching up to where I've been for two weeks. So she's like, I'm not surprised. I'm not like I just expected this to happen.
Rennae Stubbs: Yeah. I will give Casey Dellacqua a lot of credit to because she picked you as well because she saw you play a lot in Adelaide. So before we get to the match and all of the things that I want to talk to you about, what's the last few weeks been like for you? And I just want you to tell people what the moments were like, as in the hours after you won the tournament, like what are the things that people have no idea? Yeah, it looks all glamorous, you get this big check, you get a trophy, and they think you just walk away. Nah, can you tell people what you've what you had to do immediately after the match and then subsequently after.
Madison Keys: That, Yeah, it's been it's been kind of crazy, and even being a player, I had no idea like the hours that go into it. Immediately from the court I went and I did. I think we did like six live TV interviews all in a row, hadn't even showered yet, had no food. Literally at I was like, I'm so thirsty, Like I haven't had a drink of water. It's been like an hour. So did that, and then finally had like twenty minutes, had drug testing that I had to do. Yeah, yeah, finally took a shower, shoveled food in my face because I was like, oh, I'm already late, and then probably did another like two hours of media. So I think we got back to the hotel at almost three. It was like two thirty. And of course then I'm like I can't sleep, so I don't think. I don't think I even partially fell asleep until like five am, and then I think it was like eight o'clock. I had to wake up in the morning and had like more media, more stuff, did that for the morning, and then finally around like I think it was probably around noon or one o'clock, we were finally like done for the day. And then I had to pack. I was just a zombie. I was like so happy, but also it was like I hadn't even taken a breath and absorbed anything that happened. And then we had to fly. We flew back to the States. I went to New York. I had like an entire day of press in New York. Got back like Tuesday night, I think, got back to Florida Tuesday night, and before the season had even started, we had agreed to do. One of the commitments that I had to do was for like that Wednesday. So I literally landed and had to go back in and do more stuff the next day. And then it's like the just kind of the follow up, last minute interviews and everything, and I think it was probably I think it was like Thursday night, and I finally said to my agent. I was like, I'm done, Like I can't. I'm gonna put my phone in a drawer. I can't talk, Like I'm I cannot talk to anyone else. I can't be on my phone. It's going in a drawer. If anyone needs me, caled Yarn, I will talk to everyone on Monday.
Rennae Stubbs: Yeah, So I don't I really wanted you to tell people that because I want people to understand what it's like to you know, and I'm sure you have such respect now for people that do this all the time, that have won, you know ten twenty plus Grand Slams. It's like, this is the way it is, and clearly they're used to it, so they know what's coming. But I wanted people to understand that it's not just all these roses. It's a lot of work, you know, and you can't say no to that kind of thing. So I want to know. There's moments like I'm not putting myself any even remotely close to winning a singles Grand Slam. But I remember first time I won a Grand Slam, and I got into the shower after the match, and it was the first time I felt like I was alone. Was there a moment where you were alone where it all hit you that you had just won.
Madison Keys: I think it was probably like it was kind of after all of the interviews and everything were done, because it felt like I was finally able to sit with my own thoughts. And I think I was just kind of like sitting at home and going through like just the normal routine of you're back home, you're making coffee or whatever. And I think this was back in Florida. It was like days later. It was like days later, and I finally just sat there. I was like, holy crap, I did that. Like that actually it actually happened, And and it's it's a it's a weird thing when something that you've been like dreaming of and working towards since you were a little kid and then you finally do it, the like mental and emotional shift that happens where you're like, wait, I actually did it, yeah, and then you kind of were sitting there and you go, wait, what do I do now? Like, oh wait, like what's next? Like I've I've spent almost thirty years of my life essentially like working towards this thing, and it's always felt like it was, you know, just a little bit far away and like I had to still keep working for it, and then I did it, and now I have to like totally, I feel like I'm like shifting as a person. Yeah, And it's I think it's also weird because it's like I think when when it's still a dream and it's still a goal, you kind of have like all these bows and rainbows around it and you're like it's going to be the greatest moment of my entire life, and then it happens and you're like, Okay, that was really really great and I really loved it and I'd love to do that again. But also, that's not really what I thought it was going to be, Like.
Rennae Stubbs: Yeah, that's interesting in what way? In what way? Like it is it because you're like, oh, well, what's next.
Madison Keys: I think there's a little bit of that, And part of that, actually, as a tennis player, kind of annoys me that that's like the first thought because every other sport they have like their thing and then they have all this off time and they get to enjoy it, and for us it's like, oh, there's another tournament two days later.
Rennae Stubbs: Yeah, yeah, yeah. They don't have an office like four months.
Madison Keys: No. So I think that's part of it. But I think the other thing was I think for a really long time for me, I had this kind of thought around winning a Grand Slam and what it would mean and what it would do, and I think in my brain it was like it would be like this life changing, insane thing that I finally felt validated in all this, and then I think I finally got to the point in my career where I was like, Okay, I don't really need to win a Grand Slam to feel like I've achieved a lot in my career. So I think I kind of stopped thinking about what it would be like, and then it kind of just all happened in my brain quickly, and so it was just kind of it just it was like my brain had to actually get on track with like everything that had happened so quickly.
Rennae Stubbs: So I always talk about I've talked about many times on my podcast or just in general terms, and I always talk about the subconscious and conscious minds, And so for me, it's like your conscious mind is always has always said to you, you're good enough to win this, and yes, you know, when you made your first Grand Slam final, You're like, yeah, I'm going to win this match. But there's this little, tiny, little tiny Madison Keys in the back of the This is how I describe it. It's like the little one that's in the back of the mind going no, you're not, You're really not You're really not, You're really not ready. Idon't know if you're good enough. Is it a little bit like you talked about already, You've always said you felt like was maybe a little bit an attainable thing. You weren't quite sure if you could get there, so well, I want to know then, like after Adelaide and going into the Aussie and having an extraordinarily bad, tough draw like you had the you had arguably the hardest draw in the tournament, which maybe was a good thing for you. I don't know, but do you was when you played, particularly the Semis and the final against arguably the two best players in the world, were your subconscious and conscious minds a little bit more aligned, better than they've ever been, Like, was that little madisone sort of being shut down a little bit more?
Madison Keys: I think I think there was definitely there's I mean, I think there was still moments of doubt, I think, but I think that's the one thing that I'm kind of coming to terms with is that there's always going to be doubt. It's it's a normal reaction feeling. It's just life. You're never going to go through life and say I'm one hundred percent confident all of the time. It's just it's not possible.
Rennae Stubbs: So I think not having the negative reaction towards doubt and and wasting energy and time being mad at myself for having doubt and just and almost like fighting against it and saying, well, no, I.
Madison Keys: Don't think that, like that's not true. I know I am confident, and instead saying like, okay, like that's a fine feeling to have, but like you can have that feeling and you can also still win this match, so like it doesn't have to be you don't have to be one hundred percent. I'm gonna win this and everything is gonna be perfect. So I think that's that was a big shift for me. That helped a lot, just kind of knowing even throughout a match, there's gonna be ebbs and flows, and there's gonna be times when you're super locked in, and then there's gonna be times when you kind of get lost in the clouds. And I think the reason that the top players are so good is because when they do get lost in the clouds, they come back so quickly and without judgment. So I think that's kind of where I've gotten a lot better, just kind of being able to refocus and not have the judgment around the negative thoughts or things or doubts that pop up in my head and wasting time on being annoyed at myself for having them.
Rennae Stubbs: Yeah, so how much is you know? I love so much that you talked about going to regular therapy and not a sports psychologist, which a lot of people do. And I'm a really big believer in. It's probably your actual self that's the problem here, you know what I mean. It's not necessarily how you react in a certain point, it's how you perceive yourself. So even the way you've just talked, now you know how much did actually just going in to actual regular therapy and you're happy in your life. It's not like you were fighting with your boyfriend at the time and like you were going in and I need to fix my or maybe you were, I don't know, but like I'm pretty sure you weren't, but I haven't hear we were crying. Pretty sure, I'd beyond be hard to argue with. But but like, who was the catalyst that said how about this? Or was that all you? And I got to give Petko a lot Andrea Petkovic a lot of credit because we were talking about you know, your racket and beyond and the service motion and all the things which we might get to. But Petko's like, yeah, but she's the one that made that decision. She's the one that decided to go to therapy, so I want to know how that came about.
Rennae Stubbs: So it was it was kind of funny. I definitely went originally and like sit down and I was like, I want to make ten ofs better and I want to be good and I want to have fun on the court. And she was like okay, and then she asked me one question about my life and I just started like sobbing, and she was like, do we think maybe this isn't just about tennis? And I was like, oh, maybe you're onto something. But I was just to a point, and I think I think the reason that a lot of things are highlighted in tennis is because it's I mean, it's high stress. You're out there by yourself. I mean, it's just if you have anything going on, you put yourself in tennis and it's just a pressure cooker. So everything just feels amplified. And I think off of the court, it's a lot easier to hide from any sort of things that you're trying to ignore. Yeah, and then on a tennis court, it's you double halt on breakpoint at five all in the third and you're ready to just completely lose your marbles. So I think for me, I definitely started in the thought of, like, I just want to make tennis better. My life is great, I'm fine, I feel great about myself. I just you know, get really more of us storing Kinnis matches. But I was I was really struggling with my relationship with tennis, and that's kind of a hard place to be when it's not only your job, but your job basically consumes ninety five percent of your life. And it was really kind of starting to bleed over into my personal life. And I think at the core of it, it was just how I felt about myself, yeap. And I think that's the tricky part about I mean about just deeply caring about your career path and what you are very passionate about, is it's hard to separate the two things. So when you feel some way about something that you're doing, it kind of it's all just one. So I was starting to kind of just really struggle just overall. And I would say that it was it was just kind of starting to become a little bit more apparent to a lot of people that hey, I think maybe you need to go talk to someone, and it's obviously more obvious on a tennis court. So it started with maybe it'll help the tennis and all that, and then from there it was really, you know, Okay, I think I need to like work on some of my own beliefs that have kind of started to become pretty deep inside.
Rennae Stubbs: Yeah. I mean, honestly, I think it's such a phenomenal thing that you're talking about it so openly, because I think you'll hope so many people realize that, you know, there's so much, especially someone as good as you, you know, you cannot not help. But hear people say, but Madison's so good, she hits the ball bigger than everybody. She should be winning these matches. And at some point it has to start, You have to. I would imagine you would start thinking, well, why the fuck am I not winning these matches? You know what I mean, And then it starts to chip away at you just as a human being. You know, you're just like, well, I'm just not good enough, I guess you know. So I'm so proud of you for doing that, because that's a huge step to be able to go in and like dig really deep into into your own life. So you know, before we get back to the match, I want to know quickly, who was the first phone call that you made after you won? Because I mean, the people that you love so much that have been in your corner, you know, Kayla and Richard and beyond, they were there immediately, you know, in tears and it was amazing. But who was the first phone call you made?
Madison Keys: I called my mom?
Rennae Stubbs: Yeah, what was her reaction?
Madison Keys: Honestly, it's funny. It's a lot of swear words, I love you tears, followed by I'm so proud of you. I mean, you could do it. I mean just it was just it was funny. It was funny then, and I was like, I am I am my mother's child.
Rennae Stubbs: You are definitely definitely, oh mean, I love that. I figured it would be your mom. But you never know, you know, Max might want you to call him first for some reason.
Madison Keys: But you know, no, he was he was mess. He was like, you can't call me. I'm still weeping, Like I can't, I can't talk to you for a few days because I'm just gonna just weep.
Rennae Stubbs: Have you watched the match?
Madison Keys: Since I've watched some highlights, I have watched match.
Rennae Stubbs: Just so you know, I've watched the match three times. I swear to god, I've watched it three times. It was such a good tennis match.
Madison Keys: But anyway going, I've watched some highlights, but I haven't actually sat there and just like watched it. Fully. Yeah, there's definitely there are some highlights, and I feel like there's a few points that are just like.
Rennae Stubbs: On replay, which tell me which ones?
Madison Keys: Honestly, the one that I still cannot believe was five all thirty all in the third. The return, and I have no idea, but I remember just even like how I reacted after I made it, did you like fun? I was like, oh, that was a big point.
Rennae Stubbs: Well, I have to say to you you know, clearly I was doing the coverage court side and Mary Joe Fernandez, I believe, I'm not sure one hundred percent sure, but I'm fairly certain she said, just deadpan, just went that is the shot of the tournament, or it might be in the match. It was like, you couldn't say anything other than that because you were on the edge of that precipice there, right, and you know, we all know we can all talk about the US Open match, and they were so similar the match with Sebolenka, like you won the first set seeks love, and I was thinking, did you think about losing a game in the first set at the Australian Open, just so you didn't do the same thing.
Madison Keys: You know. It's funny. I didn't even think of the match at the US Open at all. Well, didn't even popp into my head.
Rennae Stubbs: That is remarkable because I just getting ready to talk to you today I saw of you know, I was wanted to go back and watch that match because I did the match, but I couldn't really remember. I know, you're up a set in five to three, but I have to say Sabalenka played off her trait from a set in five to three.
Madison Keys: So I mean she played well and I think she played so well. And I think the thing that going into this final I kept saying to myself was she played brave. She went after her shot, she didn't back up, she went after everything. And I really wanted to make sure that I did that this match because I felt like at the US Open, I let my foot off the gas pedal one hundred and gave her more opportunities than she already is capable of creating by herself.
Rennae Stubbs: I actually wrote down here five three, fifteen thirty lazy legs. Yeah, because you at fifteen thirty went had a chance to maybe win the match at five to three in the second set. You had a ball that was kind of like mid range. It was like one of those ones you could have got around and hit your beforehand, and you chose to hit a backhand and you missed it. And I remember thinking, if that was the stray and Open this year, you would have absolutely got around and crushed an inside out for hand, which you did on match point. So I think that's the difference, and that's an interesting so you can learn from your losses and you do. What was the conversation with Bjorn after the first set? I saw you go over. You had a bit of a laugh. Actually she went off the court, I think, and I think he might have been given you a bit of crap about your slice backhand because you went into a little bit of negative slice back and maybe it was after the second set, but you guys, like, what was the conversation that you were primary? That was the primary thing that he was trying to get across to you most of the time, particularly at the end.
Madison Keys: I think it was really just trying to get on the offense before she did, and I think that that was kind of the key, and I think the biggest thing in the second set. I thought she started doing a really great job of mixing things up. She started using her drop shot so well. And I think I don't even really remember what exactly we were talking about, but it was really just trying to try to stay on offense so that she can't do that as much, and just keep trying to stay close in the match and then just try to sink your teeth into it. And I remember before we switched sides, he kind of just said, like, it's fine, like you're going into a tiebreaker if you lose this game, Like go after some of the turns a little bit, just because I was kind of making some but they weren't good enough that she was usually either hitting a winner or getting on offense on her first ball. So he was like, fine, just like go after a little bit more like take a step back and take full cuts.
Rennae Stubbs: Yeah. I looked at the stats today of the match, and you hit two return winners in the entire match. And you hit one in the third set and it was the love fifteen and I was sitting next to as you know, Laura Robson, who's one of your best friends, and I hit her on the arm and I was like, holy shit, she she's gonna win this match. And it was just like, I want you to talk a little bit about I always talk about the slope at this train Open. There's a little bit of a slope, the downhill slope from the President's end down. How much did that help, like in the last game, because in the game before you gestured to be on because he wanted you to step up on the return and you said, I can't. I don't know exact words, but you are basically like. I can't really do it. Tell people how at home, how the slope is a little bit difficult at this train Open, and how being down one end to the other is very difficult on return, and so well, I think.
Madison Keys: It's a little bit of the slope. And it's also if there's any sort of breeze. It always comes from the end.
Rennae Stubbs: It's not in my opinion, it's not super typical, especially on a big stadium, for it to be from one baseline to the other. You usually have some sort of crosswind, but this one is pretty strong from directly behind you. So I think that along with the slope that one side is it's easier to return and it's harder to serve.
Madison Keys: Oh it's not of the serve with the wind and the slope.
Rennae Stubbs: No. No, if you're on the other side, and I'm saying if the wind is behind you or the wind is in front of you, when the wind is in your face and you're serving uphill, you can feel you can feel the difference, and you kind of feel like you're It's like, okay, usually my serve is like supposed to help me, and all of a sudden, I feel like I'm like behind somehow. So I think I kind of I kind of knew that was there, and I I just kind of was like, Okay, well, I'm just gonna try to go a little bit extra on these, just because at least the wind's not going to be pushing it into me. Yeah, And for I mean, for whatever reason, I just was like way more locked in that game. Yeah, I mean it was so impressive, But take me to the match point. When you got to match point fifteen forty, which is a little bit of a buffer, but also at the same time, it's kind of like it almost makes you more nervous because you're like, oh my god, I've. Got to You're like, oh my god, if I lose this one, it's forty thirty, and then if I lose that one, then it's duece. We hate to tell people, but that is exactly what goes through the mind. So what went through your mind at fifteen forty because you played a phenomenal point to get to fifteen forty, you got a couple of balls back that maybe people thought you weren't going to get back, you speedy little devil.
Madison Keys: I think at forty fifteen it was just I just kind of kept thinking, like, she's probably gonna hit a great serve because I feel like whenever you back her into a corner is when she plays her best. So it was, you know, just expect it. Obviously hit a great serve, couldn't do anything about it, walked over to the other side, and I think all I really said to myself before the point was just try to have a good like deep middle return, just to try to be neutral, like I just don't want to be on defense right away. And I did and I think I actually hit it better than I thought. And the first ball came in the first forehand I hit, I didn't hit it clean and I wanted it to go more off the court and it went up the middle and I remember thinking, oh shit, like she might do something with that. And then she did it and it kind of came back to me and I was like, well, it's sour and never you might as well just go for it.
Rennae Stubbs: So really, that's when the ball came back to you. You were a little bit sort of semi surprised at old shit, she didn't do something with a lesser shot of mules, and you said, fuck it, I'm going for it.
Madison Keys: Yeah, because I really wanted to. I mean, the whole point in the whole game plan for the match was to try to be on offense as quickly as possible. So as I kind of mishit it, I was a little annoy at myself because I was like, I should have done something better with the ball that I got. Yeah, And so the ball that came back, I was like, Okay, I can definitely do something with this, and I don't. I want to make sure I do more in the ball that I just hit or else. I'm definitely not getting another opportunity.
Rennae Stubbs: When it came off your racquet, did you know as a stride winner because she was leaning for.
Madison Keys: No. I think I was still like creating for something to come back, because I feel like it is funny. I feel like watching the replays and watching the highlights, it's like it takes me a second to actually be like, oh shit, I did win. It's over.
Rennae Stubbs: You know, there were crazy stats in the third sit, and I wrote a couple of them down and I have no idea if you looked at the stats, probably not, But you were getting crushed on your second serve in the third set, and she was winning eighty two percent on her second serve and you were winning fifty four percent. She only won sixty eight percent of her first serf and you won eighty five. So the difference with her hitting first serfs, you were actually better off hitting her first serf. Is that not a crazy stat? In the third set?
Madison Keys: That is kind of crazy. Yeah.
Rennae Stubbs: I couldn't believe that stat when I saw it. And you guys, there was one point that separated you in the match and one point that separated you in the third set. That's how close the match was overall.
Madison Keys: I mean it was I felt like it was one of those matches where her level wasn't amazing at the start. Mine was pretty good, and I think she really raised her level in the second set, and I hadn't quite cut up yet, and then I felt like the third set was just dogfight, really high level tennis on bull sides.
Rennae Stubbs: No, it was incredible third set, which is why I think it's so fascinating that you didn't think about the US Open because they were so similar in so many ways other than the fact that you were well ahead at the US Open, I felt like there was so when I've watched it since, there was very similar. So I'm pretty impressed that you didn't think about the US Open in that match is probably what helped you get through it, to be quite honest, is that you didn't think about it. So after you when you know, there's this tears, it's just such a great moment. Everybody, so many people were so happy for you, Madi, including me. I mean, there was a lot of tears. Mary Joe Fernandez was having a hard time in the in the booth, I was having a hard time. I was trying to get through my last little bit about you. The thing that impressed me the most is that you won that match. She did not lose. That you won that match, which is such a great feeling. But also talking about what everybody, what you said about what you had to do in the days after, is why I'm so happy that you didn't go to the Middle East. What discussion was that, Like with Beyond, I had a discussion with him actually when I saw him that night, and I was like don't let her go to the Middle East. I was like, because one thing Sam Stosur said after the match, I did a recap with her on my podcast and she said, the one regret I have after winning the ucycle was going to Asia because I didn't give myself the time to take it all in and enjoy it. So what was the reasoning behind not going to the Middle East and what's the thought process now going into Indian wells?
Madison Keys: Well, there was a lot of back and forth on it, and I had obviously, I mean I obviously played the whole tournament with my leg taped up as well, which it wasn't ever really a hindrance, but it was also still something that I was like, it's obviously not one hundred percent, so that was obviously also part of it, was also a factor in it, but it was I think by the time I got home and had actually like finally had just a day at home where I didn't have to do anything, I think I would have had to have got I think it was like eight or eight days, and I was gonna have to travel again. Yeah, And obviously the flight home is it's over. It's over. It's like a twenty eight hour day of travel, and so I was thinking, Okay, eight days later, I'm gonna have to do another twenty hour plus travel day play two weeks, fly all the way to the last coast, so then go to the east coast, and then you have a few weeks and then you go back to Europe. And I just I was like, Okay, there's no way I can get on a plane in eight days. Yeah, and I just I'm still I was so even the week that I started hitting. I think I started hitting like the Monday after we got home, so I had four or five days off, and even then I was still exhausted, just mentally, emotionally, just so tired, and I kept kind of thinking like maybe we still just do Dubai. But then it's also like it's so far for one tournament, and it just it was just kind of like the pros and cons of do you go all that way, maybe have a good tournament, maybe not, And it just it felt so rushed, and I still it took me like a full week of practice to finally feel like I was back to myself. And so I was like, why am I going to go put myself in a bad situation where I'm finally feeling better on the court, I'm finally feeling like myself again. Why am I going to try to like rush and put myself in this situation where I don't feel ready because I'm not. I haven't had enough time to fully recover. Why why would I do that to myself?
Rennae Stubbs: I think that's called maturity, and I think, and I'm serious when I tell you this, Like it was the one thing that Sam said in the pod. She's like, I hope she doesn't I said, I have a feeling she probably won't go, but he goes. I hope she doesn't go because it's the one regret that I have because it's so overwhelming what you've just gone through and you have to take it in right. And one of the things that Sam said is you also have to always remember just because you won the ustrae and Open, or in Sam's case, the US Open, doesn't mean you're going to win the next match, you know, so you have to be willing to be prepared to, you know, go through the hard work again and deal with that because, as you already pointed out, tennis is really hard. You don't have an off season to enjoy this big win. So how has everything been like preparing now and getting yourself ready for an Indian Wells? Where do you feel like you are emotionally and mentally?
Madison Keys: I feel like it's it's been a good amount of time for me to be back on court, and I feel like, I mean, like I said, it felt like it took seven to ten days to finally find my feet again. And I think the other thing that's really funny is I'm sure Sam experienced as well as now, all of a sudden you're dealing with your own expectations all of a sudden dramatically changing. So what But I think I've had to be really honest with myself and know that that's going to be something that I'm going to have to work through because it's a totally normal thing to happen. But it's also like no one really thrives when you're going out and thinking like I have to win everything now. So I think that's going to be I mean, that's going to be my new challenge. And obviously it's it's a really good place to obviously be in to have to like learn how to deal with that pressure because it means that you've done some really big things. But it's definitely something new that I'm going to have to figure out how to whether the storm that I'm creating.
Rennae Stubbs: Especially like, yeah, especially in the US.
Madison Keys: And I think that's It's also been a good amount of time for me to get to the point of realization because at first I was like, yeah, no, I'm totally cool, Like I'm just gonna think this exact same way and everything will be fine. And I was like, Okay, well, you're lying to yourself. So once we get to the point of like honesty, then we can move forward and we can work that way.
Rennae Stubbs: So have you been back to your therapist?
Madison Keys: Multiple times?
Rennae Stubbs: Okay, so great, I'm glad you said that. What was the first conversation. What was what was the first like one two minutes, like when you walked in the door to see her or him.
Madison Keys: Just like immediately tears. I was like, I'm so happy, I'm so happy. But then it was it was really good because even after my match, I got the assign to do a lot of writing and just make sure that you put all of it out there and really kind of live in all of the moments. And there was definitely a little bit like I had already kind of gone into okay, but what next? And she was very quick to be like, hmm, let's like, let's let's take this win. Let's like live in the wind a little bit longer. Yeah, just to just really like just appreciate it. It's just like you work so hard for it. It's it would be such a shame to not actually enjoy it and just immediately shift into Okay, there's a new tournament next week, like gotta go do that.
Rennae Stubbs: Does it get to be a little bit more like exciting what you now know that you're capable of doing under the most incredible duress. I mean, as I said, you know, for people that don't know your drawl was insane and you beat some of the best, if not arguably the best players in the world are at the Grand Slam. You know, you beat Eager, you beat Rybakina, you beat Sabalenka. It's like you beat Switzerland, who's been there a million times. Like you beat Danielle Collins, Like you beat so many people in that tournament that know what it's like to be deep into a Grand Slam and to win them. I also now know watch out people because Madison knows now how to win the big matches. And so how much does that actually excite you going forward?
Madison Keys: It's been really exciting, and I think that I think I feel really grounded as well. I think I have a really have just some of the best people around me, and it's probably the most honest that I've been just where I'm at and what's going on in my brain. And I feel like they have helped me navigate so many moments. And even before before I played Iga in the Semis, my fitness trainer just looked at me and said, you know that, like you're worthy of this, like you can do it, and just like immediate tears. And then he made me say it back to him and I was like I can't, Like I actually can't say it, and he's like, no, no, no, like you're gonna say it. And it's I mean, it's it's little things like that that I don't think people like saying that. I don't think people really understand like how much of an impact that makes. Yeah, but it makes a huge impact. And it's just that little bit that you know deep in the third that you have something to hang on to. So I think I'm really excited about obviously what I can do, but I think I'm more excited just with the people that are around me and getting to have, you know, hopefully a really good season, but just I mean, I've just been so happy to be at this point in my career and have the people that I have. It's just it's honestly just kind of like icing on the cake.
Rennae Stubbs: I think that's why we saw all the tears from your team. We knew we were going to get tears from beyond, but to see Kaylor, to see Richard like just to see them because they know how much and we know we see you guys together all the time. We know what you guys have been through, and particularly with your ill you know your injuries and everything that you've had. I mean Wimbledon last year, I thought you were playing unbelievable. But does that give you a lot of hope knowing that if physically you can stand up to it now mentally you know you can. How much does that help you? Because I can tell you I've said this to people. I'm not putting any pressure on you, but you are good enough to win every single Grand Slam because you can play on every surface. So you know not to put pressure on you know, not to do it to yourself, but you know, I want you to feel that way like when you go into those slams now, that's where your head should be. You are worthy of that. Do you feel that?
Madison Keys: Yeah, well that I definitely feel like I've It's kind of like it's like, Okay, you finally you finally knock the wall down that you had been struggling against. And I think now it's such a it's such a exciting place to be because you know how you knock the wall down and you know that you can. You have people also there that can help support you through that, and I think there's just I mean, there's so many weeks of the year that you can that we can do really, you know, great things. And I feel like it's I feel like I'm finally like probably the most me and the most connected to myself that I've ever been. Yeah, and I feel like that's how me just so much on the court.
Rennae Stubbs: So I didn't ask you. I asked you about the first moment where you had by yourself where you like sunk in. But was there a moment when you were like with beyond I don't know, lying in bed or waking up in the morning and you just looked at each other and went, oh, my fucking god, we did it.
Madison Keys: I think it was that moment actually happened pretty quickly. But we got back to the room and it was like literally like almost three am, both so delirious and tired, but just I'm cloud dying and he just looked at me and he was like, holy shit, like you just you just won the Australian Oup. It like that that actually happened. I know, it's crazy, but it's been really cool too. I mean, I think it's it's fairly rare in the sport to be able to have your significant other when you win the big moments, but to really like do it together. Yeah, it's been. I mean it's it's honestly one of the coolest things.
Rennae Stubbs: Yeah, I mean, we know we've talked about the service change, which, by the way, I thought you should have done years ago as well, just so I was like, why doesn't she step up on a serve? I don't get it. You're serving the ball so much harder now. You hit zero double faults in the final zero, which is unbelievable considering I know that you were struggling a little bit with getting the timing on the second serve because it felt a little bit different. But that also shows to people at home, like it doesn't matter how old you are, you know, and relatively you're still so young, but at thirty you kind of like, well, I've been playing professional tennis now for fifteen years, Like really, I'm going to change my service motion and I changed my racket, I'm going to change all my strings, like this is crazy. But also it shows you and Petko said, that also shows how gutsy you were to do that, because there's been some people that have changed rackets and changed this and changed that, and they've gone downhill real fast.
Rennae Stubbs: You know. I think about Radwanska when she changed the racket. She couldn't win a match after that. So it's like that was gutsy of you and the belief and the trust that you obviously have and beyond and his just his tennis nerdy brain. It's just awesome to see. I just like him, so I love him so much. Who was the coolest person that reached out to you the text or the call and you were like.
Madison Keys: Little Wayne DMed me. We had like a back and forth which was very funny, but it was funny. I was making breakfast one morning and I got a phone call and I didn't have the number saved, and I was I just answered. I don't know why, but I was like hello, and she's like, Madi, it's Kim. I was like she's like, yeah, it's Kim. And I was like, oh my god, thanks Kim talking about yes And it meant the world to me because after I lost in after I lost you an open final, I saw her right after the match and she gave me the biggest hug and the biggest kiss on the cheek and said it's okay. I've been there, You're gonna do it like it'll be okay, I promise. But I mean it just was like so full circle that that was probably my favorite.
Rennae Stubbs: I think that's so interesting because everyone thinks, oh, you know this person or that person, but it just shows you that you go back to being a little kid, right And you know, Kim Clijsters was like your idol and you played so you played so similarly to her. She just wishes she had yourself. But anyway, all right, I'm gonna ask you just a couple more questions. Is You've been so great to spend a lot of time, but I did put out a question to social media and I wanted, you know, my listeners to like throw in some questions to you, and one of them was how do you balance the work and home life dynamics with your husband beyond.
Madison Keys: You know what's funny everyone asked us that, and I feel like it's not really something that we struggle with. I think partially because since we both played already, we were so good at being tennis court life and it's I don't even know if we necessarily ever really like switch on or switch off. It's just so a part of our life that I mean, in the middle of dinner and again, like you said, he's like the biggest tennis nerd on the planet, and I swear to god, Wh'll wake up at like five am sometimes and like be thinking of just the most like absurd, random thing and then all of a sudden he's like on YouTube. It's like five point thirty in the morning and he's on YouTube like looking something up because he like wanted to see something. But but it'll just happen like at breakfast where he's you know, I've been struggling on something in practice, and all of a sudden it'll click for him and he was like, oh, I know who hit this ball amazingly well, and then he's like searching some player literally from any era, which is always the thing that blows my mind. And he's like, okay, so you see how they do that, and like, you guys have similar grips, and like, so it's that'll happen at breakfast or at dinner or whatever, or in the middle of practice, like something will pop into my head where I'm like, oh shit, like someone's coming to the house tomorrow at this time, Like I totally forgot you need to like put that in your phone so that you know when someone's at the house. So it's just I mean, we're really good at just kind of bouncing in and out, and he's very good about as much as it keeps him awake at night, you know. Yeah, Like there's times when if I'm on the couch watching HGTV while scrolling TikTok, like it's not the time to try to bring up Hey, So in practice tomorrow.
Rennae Stubbs: Yeah, yeah, that's good. That would be that would be that would be interesting. You guys are such a good relationship, were able to be like top to the hand not now all right, this was a great question. This is the last one from social because I'd said I don't asked one or two. So a lot of the answers you've already given have been questions that people have asked. But based on her experience, what advice would she give to an aspiring champion to let go of the weight of expectation and help them reach their full potential. Was there a key aspect in your mental work that triggered that mindset shift and that was a feely I think I got that name right. But that was a great question.
Madison Keys: I thought, that's a very good question. I think, I mean, I think it'd be hard to just give you a blanket answer that would just everyone would feel the same, because obviously everyone's very different. I know for me that it took a lot of kind of talking through things, and I think as I started talking about more things, I started learning things about myself, kind of discovering things that I thought about myself that I didn't even know that was really there. But one day, one day we were talking and I was saying something, and I remember saying the statement. It was something along the lines of I've I don't think that I have played to my potential because I was supposed to be great and I haven't reached that yet. And saying that out loud for the first time, I like, I really didn't think that was something that I felt about myself, and I had to really deal with feeling like I had failed and getting over the hurdle of if I never went a grand slam, I'm not a failure. That's not the blanket. That's not like the line of you've had a successful career or you have it, and I think it's really hard kind of place to live as a tennis player because that kind of is what a lot of people make as success. And you look around and you say, like, Svitolina has had a phenomenal career, phenomenal like in no world where anyone would say that she was a failure.
Madison Keys: Yes, ever yeah. And she never won a Grand Slam. But like, and I think that was it was a hard thing for me because I would look at other people and I'd be like, no, they're they've had phenomenal careers, like they're not a failure, and all I had to turn that back on myself and say, well, wait, no, like I've I've done some pretty good things, Like I've had a pretty successful career, Like I would definitely if you told me, at you know, ten years old, the achievements that I have, I would take like, I would say that was a really good career. So that was kind of my That was kind of my struggle to work through. And it really just all came back to not having won a Slam. It felt like I needed it in order to have any sort of validation for my career, and I needed to figure out how to find my own validation, not in the trophies that I had or I didn't have. Yeah.
Rennae Stubbs: Yeah, And you don't have to worry about ever saying that to yourself, even though you realize even if you hadn't wont it, your life would not and your career would not have been a failure because you've, as you said, you've achieved some incredible things. Is there a part of you that thinks this I'm I'm going to keep striving for more. Like you know, I know that you can improve your full hand drop shot. That's a joke, but let's face it, if you have that on clay Madi, you're gonna kill it. You're gonna kill it. Everyone's gonna be running back and you can just get that little dropper might be good at Indian Wells and just say it the volley's listen. I know Beyond appreciates like helping you with things. I can help you with that little inside out back in volley, that's my go to. Can I can help you with that one?
Madison Keys: I mean, yeah, I definitely think that. I'm I feel like at this point, the kind of the sky is the limit. I know that. It's funny because you know, when you're thirty in sports, it's like, oh, it's a miracle. She's not up there.
Rennae Stubbs: You're peaking. You're just at the start of the peak.
Madison Keys: But it's like, I feel like, as long as as long as my body can hold up and as long as I can stay healthy, I feel like there's just still so much room to improve. And I feel I mean, I feel like the best physically that I have felt in many, many years. So I feel like there's just still so much opportunity.
Rennae Stubbs: Well, I just got excited thinking about it, because you know how much I love you, you know how much I believe in you. So I'm just saying, clay, that's your jam too. Grass. We know you can play well on grass. And now that you're serving with the feed up, you know, and you get a little bit more pop on that serve, even more free points. And the US Open, we know how well you played there, so no pressure. I just think, you know, why not go for a career Grand Slam in one year?
Madison Keys: Let's go.
Rennae Stubbs: Talk to the little Madi down there. I'm sure, I'm sure a little Madi I'll agree, right, now. But anyway, Madi, I love you so much. I'm so freaking freaking proud of you. I got to see you coming out of your press I was leaving to go get transportation and you walk down from all your media, which was like two thirty in the morning, and I was leaving and I just looked at you and I'm just so incredibly I know how much you've gone through. We've seen each other in a lot of hallways and locker rooms, a lot of tears, and it was just great to see you crying, knowing that you finally did something that we all know you were capable of, and you did it so well.
Madison Keys: Thank you.
Rennae Stubbs: I'll see you in Indian Wells. I'll come and watch your first match, and I can't wait for it. Madi Keys, thank you so much for it, for joining me today.
Madison Keys: Thank you
