Serena Williams makes her feelings clear about Madison Keys' Australian Open triumph with strongly-worded message
Serena Williams has shed light on her perspective regarding Madison Keys' remarkable triumph at the 2025 Australian Open. The 23-time Grand Slam champion shared a powerful message about how Keys' commitment to personal growth had led to her impressive success.
Keys clinched her maiden Grand Slam title with an exceptional performance against top seed and two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the blockbuster Australian Open final. After a closely contested battle, the American edged past Sabalenka to claim a stellar 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory and clinch her maiden Grand Slam title.
Serena Williams recently conveyed her belief that her fellow American's dedication to investing in herself was instrumental in her breakthrough. The 43-year-old shared an inspiring message on social media, in which she opened up about the importance of investing, not just in companies but also in oneself.
"Hey everyone, I was just thinking about the importance of investing. A lot of people think, Oh investing is like you have to invest in a lot of big companies. Investing in big companies is great but also investing in yourself is really, really cool and important," Serena Williams said.
Citing Madison Keys' success as an example, Williams commended the 29-year-old for putting in the time and effort necessary to excel in her career. The 23-time Grand Slam champion also extended her heartfelt congratulations to Keys on her remarkable victory at the Melbourne Slam, emphasizing that she had proved herself as one of the best players in the world.
"We just saw Madison Keys, congrats to her, winning the Australian Open today. She is just an amazing player. I got to play her a lot and now she just won the Australian Open. She is so awesome but it also is something I was thinking about, she invested in herself right," she said.
"She invested in her career and she invested time into tennis, into just being the best that she could be and today she proved she's one of the best in the world by winning the Australian Open. So investing is great, whether it's in yourself or in companies. I invest in companies," she added.
Serena Williams further opened up about her own journey of self-investment, while displaying her makeup routine with her own WYN Beauty brand. The former World No. 1 disclosed that she had pursued higher education during her legendary tennis career and had even dabbled as a pre-med student, which proved valuable whenever her daughters, Olympia and Adira, fell ill.
"I also invest in putting time in myself. So, when I was younger, obviously I invested years and years of playing tennis. But even after that, I invested a lot of time, actually during tennis, I went to fashion school and was working toward a fashion degree," Williams said.
"And eventually I went to another school online and I was briefly pre-med. Isn't that weird? That kind of comes in handy now, when my daughters are sick or something, I kind of know the symptoms to look for and what to do. I'm glad I invested in myself," she added.
"It was incredible to play someone who has meant so much to me" - Madison Keys on her Australian Open clash with Serena Williams
Madison Keys will undoubtedly be thrilled to receive the endearing congratulatory message from Serena Williams, having previously spoken about how much the 23-time Grand Slam champion has meant to her in the sport.
During her triumphant run at the 2025 Australian Open, Keys reminisced about her 7-6(5), 6-2 loss to the former World No. 1 at the 2015 edition of the Melbourne Slam, disclosing how incredible it felt to square off against Williams.
"That was, I think the first time that I had played [Serena Williams]," Madison Keys said. "And it was, you know, incredible to be able to play someone who has meant so much to me in the game."
With her victory at the Melbourne Slam, Madison Keys joined Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, and Venus and Serena Williams in the elite group of players who have defeated both the World No. 1 and World No. 2 en route to winning their maiden Grand Slam title.