Madison Keys did not come close to repeating her Australian Open success from last year, falling well short in her title defence.
The American had won her first Grand Slam title at the 2025 Australian Open, beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
Sabalenka reached and lost the final again this year, but Keys fell short of the quarterfinals, exiting in the fourth round.
Keys has dropped to 15th in the WTA rankings after losing to Jessica Pegula in Melbourne.
Madison Keys pushes for equality in Grand Slam format
American players Pegula and Keys share a strong friendship away from the court, and they even co-host a podcast.
The pair recently weighed in on comments made by Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley about the potential of introducing five-set matches for women at Grand Slams.
Speaking on The Player’s Box Podcast, Keys said: “I think we are all capable of doing it. But I don’t think I would sign up to do more.
“I think if we were to do that, you also change the men as well, and they also only play three out of five from the quarterfinals on.
“I feel like when you look at a draw, with the women’s draw and then you look at the men’s draw, so often I feel like the argument is that ‘the women so many more people could win every week and it’s crazy in Slams’.
“But if you look at the men’s draw, the amount of times that top seeds would have ‘lost’ because they went down two sets to love or two sets to one, that would have been over and you would have had way more upsets and things like that.
“So I feel like if you want to do that, I think it should be equal opportunity on both sides.”
Pegula then added: “That is what I have always said. I just think three out of five is easier in a sense, because you have more time to come back as the top players.
“I think they should make it the same. If we are going to go three out of five, I think it needs to be switched to the men to make it the same. I also feel like prize money would have to go up.
“I think if they are going to make a drastic decision like that, it’s going to totally change the entire women’s Grand Slam format, then I think there needs to be something to balance that out.”
Jessica Pegula caught off guard by five-set proposal at Australian Open
The idea of women playing best-of-five sets has gained traction after Tiley’s recent comments.
He mentioned that talks with players could begin, with a possible rollout as soon as 2027.
Pegula was surprised by Tiley’s remarks, saying: “I can’t believe he said that though.
“You sent it and I was like ‘Is this fake news?’ I can’t believe he even mentioned it. What did he say, there’s no rule against it?”
If implemented, the change would likely focus on matches from the quarterfinals onwards. Currently, men play best-of-five sets throughout Grand Slam tournaments.
At the moment, women compete in three-set matches at Grand Slams. But if the proposal gains traction, we could see a significant shift in format within the next year – even if support for such a move seems limited right now.
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