Career Timeline of Madison Keys: Major Achievements and Milestones

How Madison Keys built a successful career. Explore key moments that defined the journey.

Madison Keys is an American professional tennis player who has achieved a WTA ranking as high as world No. 5. She has won ten career singles titles, highlighted by a Major title at the 2025 Australian Open. Keys also reached the final of the 2017 US Open, showcasing her consistent performance at the highest levels of the sport.

Sections (3)

Full Timeline Career & Achievements Success & Recognition

2005: First player to win after defeating

In 2024, Keys defeated world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win her first major title and return to her career-high ranking of world No. 7. She was the first player to win a major after defeating both the world No. 1 and world No. 2 at the Australian Open since Serena Williams in 2005.

2007: Junior Orange Bowl Victory

In 2007, at age 12, Madison Keys was undefeated with 19-0, with her most notable title being a victory at the 12-and-under Junior Orange Bowl.

2008: First Premier 5 final

In 2015, Their most recent meeting took place in the final of the Italian Open, the first Premier 5 final of Keys's career. Serena had not lost to another American in a final since Wimbledon in 2008 against her sister.

January 2009: Copa del Café Winner

In January 2009, Madison Keys won the Copa del Café in Costa Rica, becoming the first American winner of the girls' event in its 26-year history.

February 2009: Turned Professional

In February 2009, Madison Keys turned professional on her 14th birthday.

2009: Any major since Kuznetsova

March 2011: Miami Open Debut

In March 2011, Madison Keys was awarded a wild card into the Miami Open and was defeated by Patty Schnyder in the first round.

2011: Moved to Pro Tour

After the 2011 US Open, Madison Keys moved to the pro tour full-time, ranked No. 16 in the ITF junior rankings.

2011: Switched coaches to Adam Peterson

In 2011, after six years at the Evert Tennis Academy, Madison Keys switched coaches to Adam Peterson, who was assigned to work with her through the USTA.

2012: Australian Open

In 2012, Madison Keys won an invitational playoff to compete at the Australian Open but was unable to get past the first round.

2013: Quarterfinals of the 2013 Charleston Open

In 2013, Keys first played Venus in the quarterfinals of the 2013 Charleston Open, where Venus won a tight match against an 18-year-old Keys.

2013: Reached WTA Top 100

In 2013, Madison Keys made it to relatively few WTA main draws in previous years. She reached the quarterfinals of Sydney International for the first time, defeating Lucie Šafářová and Zheng Jie and entered the top 100 of the WTA rankings at No. 81 a month before turning 18.

2014: Earliest Exit from US Open Since 2014

In 2014, Keys had her earliest exit from the US Open since 2014, snapping a streak of five consecutive runs to the second week after retiring in the third round due to a neck injury. This also marked the first time Keys lost in the opening round at a major since the 2014 French Open.

2014: First Meeting with Halep

In 2014, Keys won her first-ever meeting with Halep at the 2014 Sydney International, losing only five games.

2014: Received walkover in French Open

In 2014, Madison Keys received a walkover in the second round of the French Open, which does not officially count as a win.

2015: Davenport and Leach joined Keys's coaching team

Before the start of the 2015 season, Lindsay Davenport and her husband Jon Leach joined Madison Keys's coaching team, along with Lisa Raymond. Keys left all three at the end of the year.

2015: 2015 Miami Open

In 2015, Keys and Stephens first played in the first round at the 2015 Miami Open, which Stephens won in straight sets.

2015: Australian Open Semifinals

In early 2015, Madison Keys had her first breakthrough at a major when she reached the semifinals of the Australian Open as a teenager.

2016: WTA Finals Since 2016

For the second consecutive year, Keys did not play the Asian swing. Nevertheless, she qualified for the WTA Finals for the first time since 2016.

2016: 2016 WTA Finals

In 2016, Both Kerber and Halep defeated Keys in the round robin stage of the 2016 WTA Finals to prevent her from advancing to the semifinals.

2016: Matches Against Halep

In 2016, Keys lost her next matches against Halep, including the fourth round at Wimbledon and the final of the Canadian Open.

2016: Last time in Italian Open's quarterfinal

In 2016, Keys reached her second straight quarterfinal at the Italian Open. She last reached this level at this tournament in 2016.

2016: Co-hosted Fearlessly Girl summit

In 2016, Madison Keys co-hosted the first summit for Fearlessly Girl, an organization dedicated to fighting bullying and cyber-bullying, with founder Kate Whitfield in her hometown of Rock Island.

2016: First match against Osaka at the US Open

In 2016, Madison Keys played her first match against Osaka at the US Open. Keys, being more experienced, won after coming back from a 1–5 deficit in the third set.

2016: Semifinals of Italian Open

In 2016, Madison Keys won in straight sets against Muguruza during the semifinals of the Italian Open, a premier 5 tournament. This was their most important meeting to date.

2016: Hired Jesse Levine as coach

In the first half of 2016, Madison Keys hired Jesse Levine to coach her. Later, she replaced Levine with Thomas Hogstedt, leading to her debut at the WTA Finals. She then split with Hogstedt after the season.

2017: Reunited with Davenport and started working with Kindlmann

At the beginning of 2017, Madison Keys reunited with Lindsay Davenport as her coach. Midway through the year, she also started working with Dieter Kindlmann. Davenport helped lead Keys to her first major final at the US Open later that year.

2017: Power Comparison to Serena Williams

In 2017, Chris Evert compared Madison Keys' level of power at 18 years old to that of Serena Williams, noting that Keys almost matches Serena's serve in power.

2017: 2017 US Open final

In 2017, Keys and Stephens would not meet again until the 2017 US Open final in which both players were looking for their first career major singles title. Stephens defeated Keys in straight sets, which included taking the final eight games of the match.

2017: Semifinalist since Venus Williams in 2017

In 2017, Keys upset world No. 2, Iga Świątek, in three sets, coming from a set down (the first semifinalist to do so since Venus Williams in 2017) and a match point down to reach the second major final of her career, eight years after being the US Open finalist.

2017: Semifinals at Bank of the West Classic

In 2017, Madison Keys won another semifinals match against Muguruza at the Bank of the West Classic. Keys lost only five games in what was their fastest match so far. Muguruza was playing her first tournament since winning Wimbledon.

2017: Keys won against Osaka at BNP Paribas Open

In 2017, Madison Keys won in straight sets against Osaka at the BNP Paribas Open.

2017: Launched Wilson Ultra line of rackets

In the middle of 2017, Madison Keys helped launch the Wilson Ultra line of rackets and specifically used the Ultra Tour model.

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2017: Three Matches in 2017

In the summer of 2017, Keys and Vandeweghe faced off three times in a little more than a month. Keys won the final at the Stanford Classic, the first round of the Cincinnati Open, and the semifinals of the US Open.

May 2018: Ended partnership with Kindlmann

In May 2018, Madison Keys ended her partnership with Dieter Kindlmann after working together for about a year.

June 2018: Keys Returns to Top 10

Madison Keys returned to the top 10 for the first time since June 2018 after winning the Cincinnati Open.

2018: 2018 Australian Open

In 2018, Keys lost to Kerber in the quarterfinals at the 2018 Australian Open.

2018: Partnerships with Acuvue and Orangetheory Fitness

In 2018, Madison Keys partnered with the contact lens brand Acuvue and endorsed Orangetheory Fitness.

2018: Osaka won against Keys at the US Open

In 2018, Osaka won against Keys in the semifinal stage of the US Open, marking Osaka's first win against Keys.

2018: Fifth career major semifinal

In 2022, Madison Keys reached her fifth career major semifinal (and her first since the 2018 US Open)

August 2019: Return to the Top Ten

In August 2019, Keys success at this event allowed her to go back to world No. 10 in the rankings. This marked Keys' first return to the top ten since August 2019.

August 2019: First Title Since August 2019

In August 2019, Madison Keys won her first title since August 2019 at the 2022 Adelaide International 2.

2019: Ending Losing Streak Against Halep

In 2019, Keys ended her losing streak to Halep in the third round of the 2019 Cincinnati Open, winning in three sets en route to winning her first Premier 5 title.

2019: 2019 Volvo Car Open

In 2019, Keys finally recorded her first victory against Stephens in the quarterfinals at the 2019 Volvo Car Open, winning in three sets on the way to her first career clay-court title.

2019: WTA 1000 Quarterfinal at Indian Wells

In 2019, Keys reached her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal since her 2019 Cincinnati title at Indian Wells.

2019: Roland Garros Quarterfinals

In 2019, Keys reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros for the first time since 2019.

2019: Keys won Charleston Open

In 2019, Keys won one title on clay at the Charleston Open.

2019: First clay court title

In 2019, after a short stint with Jim Madrigal, Madison Keys went back to her former coach Juan Todero and won her first clay court title in their first tournament since his return.

February 2020: Relaunched Fearlessly Girl into Kindness Wins

In February 2020, Madison Keys relaunched Fearlessly Girl into a nonprofit organization called Kindness Wins, which focuses on kindness to self, youth, and others in times of struggle.

2020: Australian Open champion

In 2022, Madison Keys defeated 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, eighth seed Paula Badosa and fourth seed Barbora Krejčíková en route to the semifinals.

August 2021: Rose back inside the top 30

In August 2021, Madison Keys rose back inside the top 30 for the first time since August 2021.

January 2022: Coached by Georgi Rumenov Payakov

Since January 2022, Madison Keys was coached by former ATP professional tennis player Georgi Rumenov Payakov.

June 6, 2022: Top 100 in doubles

On June 6, 2022, Madison Keys reached the top 100 in doubles at world No. 98.

2022: First major semifinal since 2022

In 2022, Keys reached her first major semifinal since the 2022 Australian Open and third at the US Open.

2022: Australian Open Semifinals

In 2022, Keys reached the Australian Open semifinals for the second time, defeating Sofia Kenin, Paula Badosa and Barbora Krejčíková. She lost to Ashleigh Barty in the semifinals. This was her fifth career major semifinal (and her first since the 2018 US Open)