Madison Keys Admits She Didn't 'Know How to Handle' Winning the 2025 Australian Open: 'It's a New Type of Pressure'

Madison Keys is still adjusting to life after the biggest win of her career.

In an exclusive conversation with OK!, the tennis star, 30, opens up about the emotional rollercoaster that followed her victory at the 2025 Australian Open — a moment she had dreamed of her entire life but wasn't fully prepared for.

After years on tour, Keys explained she'd become comfortable navigating the expected highs and lows. But winning a Grand Slam changed everything.

"After winning the Australian Open, it was amazing, incredible and something I've always dreamed of — but it was also something very new," she tells OK! while discussing how Breathe Right has become a life-saver for her sleep schedule during nonstop travel.

"I think at this point in my career, I got really used to [wins and defeats]. Like, this happens and I know how to handle it, and then that happens and I know how to handle it. And then all of a sudden I won one of the biggest tournaments. And I was like, 'Wait, I don't know how to handle this," she spills.

The 30-year-old admits the victory introduced an entirely unfamiliar kind of expectation — both from the outside world and from herself. "I've never experienced this. I didn't know how to handle everything that comes with that," she shares, noting she’s been "working through" dealing with "a new type of pressure from outside people" and herself.

Rather than slowing her down, Keys insists the accomplishment only intensified her competitive fire.

"I went really hard into, 'I want to win everything,'" she confesses. "I really enjoyed winning. Now I want to win all things, all of the time. I want to be perfect."

Still, she's learned she can't allow tennis to consume her identity. "Separating myself from my tennis player self all of a sudden got a lot harder for me," she explains. As a result, she's been intentional about spending more time with friends and "doing things at home that make me feel very connected to me as a person."

Keys also describes how her definition of wellness has evolved throughout her career.

Growing up, she thought wellness was "how fit can you be [or] how hard can you train?" But maturing as an athlete reshaped her outlook. Now, she focuses on "how often can I sleep eight hours a night," prioritizing time with loved ones and learning "how to take a day off and not feel guilty about it."

She has also embraced therapy as a tool for full-body wellbeing. Wellness, she said, isn't just physical — it’s "how do I, as a whole person feel the best that I can."

Keys isn’t alone in speaking openly about the mental pressures of elite sports. Seeing stars like Simone Biles and Michael Phelps openly share their experiences encouraged her to do the same.

"All of a sudden, a lot of athletes were talking about their own mental health issues," she recalls. "It kind of just opened the floodgates where everyone was talking about it."

Beyond the court, Keys says her long travel schedule makes quality sleep a priority — and that’s where Breathe Right has become essential.

"I have always felt like having a really good bedtime routine has really helped me," she mentions, acknowledging how flights and time-zone jumps can throw everything off. To keep herself grounded, she sticks to the same nighttime rituals no matter where she is.

"I have a pretty extensive routine. I do my skincare and take a little bit of time by myself. I travel with my own pillow and always put my Breathe Right strip on before I get in bed. I also travel with a sound machine — so it's as close to the same routine that I have every single night. Even if it's a different hotel or country, I feel like there's some semblance of normalcy."

Her attachment to Breathe Right actually goes back years — long before she started wearing the strips nightly.

"It was always one of those things I would gravitate toward if I had any sort of congestion, allergies, a cold or something," she reflects.

One night, however, something clicked. She states, "For whatever reason, one time I was kind of like, 'Wait, I don’t have to be sick. Going to sleep and breathing better sounds really good. So why don’t I just wear this like all of the time?'"

Since then, it's become a household staple. "It’s probably been the last four or five years where I wear one every single night," Keys reveals, adding with a laugh, "My husband, [Bjorn Fratangelo], wears one every single night too. We'll put them on and I'm like, 'Oh, I can breathe! It’s crazy."