Defending Australian Open champion Madison Keys returns to Adelaide, where she is unbeaten, seeking confidence and momentum before her Melbourne title defence.
ADELAIDE: Defending Australian Open champion Madison Keys is drawing confidence from her perfect record at the Adelaide International.
The American, who won the title here last year before claiming her maiden Grand Slam in Melbourne, has never lost a match at the South Australian event.
“It definitely helped a lot,” said the 30-year-old world number seven, reflecting on how her 2025 Adelaide victory sparked her Australian Open triumph.
Keys also won the Adelaide title in 2022, a result she sees as a positive omen for her upcoming campaigns.
“Twice before I’ve played Adelaide and I ended up making the semis of the Australian Open. And then last year obviously I went deep,” she said.
With the Australian Open beginning in a week, Keys is taking positives from her season-opening run in Brisbane, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka.
“You want matches at the beginning of the season. You really want to test yourself,” said Keys, who has a first-round bye in Adelaide.
She believes such matches help players identify areas for improvement and build crucial momentum.
Keys is now the top seed in Adelaide after fellow American Jessica Pegula withdrew following her semi-final run in Brisbane.
World number nine Mirra Andreeva is the next highest-ranked player in the draw.
“I’ve never lost here so far, so I would like to keep that streak alive,” said Keys.
“That would be a pretty cool record of mine to have. So that’s definitely the goal.”
