Madison Keys ‘Hated Crying’ Until She Went to Therapy. She Won the Australian Open After ‘Being in’ Her Feelings (Exclusive)

Therapy changed Madison Keys’ relationship with tennis for the better.

The 2025 Australian Open champion, 29, has opened up about the impact of therapy on her on-court performance since winning her maiden Grand Slam. Although she had consulted with multiple sports psychologists, she felt the conversations were too geared toward results rather than how to become “more me.” A year and a half ago, she began seeing a therapist outside the sports world.

“It was the first time where I felt really comfortable,” Keys tells PEOPLE following her milestone win. “I also started saying things that I didn’t even know that had become beliefs of my own.”

She continues, “Sometimes I said things, and I would pause and think, ‘Oh wow, I didn’t even know that was inside of me.’ “

Keys figured out during therapy that she had taken what others said about her potential and “started to twist them” into whether she was accomplishing enough in her career.

The tennis star admits being vulnerable and honest with her feelings hasn’t always been the easiest, and she would rather “be happy” than experience negative emotions. However, she learned “you can only do that for so long before the cracks start to show.”

“A big part of it was just I hated crying. I hated it so much, and I always saw it as a weakness,” she reveals.

Instead of facing her emotions, she would explain them away by laying out reasons she “shouldn’t” feel them. After therapy, she realized she had to “start being in” her feelings to understand and appreciate herself more.

“I don’t need to be defined by the person that I am on a tennis court,” Keys concludes.

Keys, who defeated world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Iga Świątek in back-to-back matches for the title, reached the semifinals of the Australian Open exactly 10 years ago at age 19, losing to Serena Williams. Touted as the next American tennis star, she went on to reach the US Open final in 2017 and four more major semifinals — but each time, she fell short.

Looking back on her career, which included nine tour titles prior to her Grand Slam victory, Keys says she would tell her younger self to “try to detach” her career from her self-worth. At the same time, she feels “everything happens for a reason,” and without her struggles, she wouldn’t have become “the most whole version” of herself.

“I learned so much having to dig my way through it that I don’t know if I’d give a younger self any heads up,” she says.