Madison Keys talks 'plugging away' to win Australian Open, partnership with Breathe Right

Madison Keys had a memorable 2025 season, as she won the Australian Open to claim her first Grand Slam title. On3 recently caught up with the 30-year-old tennis star, and she detailed her journey to winning the tournament after reaching the semifinals in 2015 and 2022.

“It started in Adelaide the week before AO (Australian Open) started, and I just felt like I was playing really good tennis, and just felt pretty confident,” Madison Keys told On3. “I don’t know if it ever really clicked, because looking back, I lost a lot of games, and I played a lot of three-set matches. So, I did find out, someone told me that I was the losingest winner in AO history. I lost the most games or something ever while also winning the tournament.

“So, I don’t know, I never really took the easy route or the way that it was like, ‘Yeah, I was killing everybody.’ I was kind of constantly trying to figure my way through a lot of the matches. But I just felt really good in those matches where I just had a lot of confidence that if I just kept plugging away and trying to problem-solve, I was getting through so many matches. So, I just felt the confidence that I could figure it out and I could find a way through those matches.”

Madison Keys loves using Breathe Right

Keys then went on to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open and the third round of Wimbledon before losing in the first round of the US Open. But before Keys won the Australian Open, she won the Adelaide International, which is played in Australia. Keys is currently ranked No. 8 in the world.

One of the things that have helped Keys become a top tennis player is her use of the Breathe Right nasal strips. She has teamed up with Breathe Right to highlight the importance of daily sleep, which is important to her as an athlete.

“This partnership was, obviously, it was the easiest thing in the world because I’ve been a user for many, many years,” Keys said. “My husband uses them. So we kind of always have multiple boxes laying around our house at all times. I travel a ton, sleep is obviously incredibly important to me. So, it just made a lot of sense that something that can help, helps me breathe better. I feel like I sleep better. Sleeping better, I feel better the next day. And tennis is obviously such small margins. It’s kind of one of those things where you’re constantly doing everything that you can, and that you can control to be in the best position to go out and win a tennis match.”