Madison Keys claims Tennis fans have skewed expectations, thanks to Big 3 and Serena Williams

Overview

• Madison Keys felt that modern-day Tennis fans have skewed expectations from the players, thanks to the success of the Big 3 and Serena Williams
• The 2025 Australian Open winner felt that Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Serena set a huge bar
• She felt that even the players want to finish their careers with as many titles as possible

Madison Keys felt that modern-day Tennis fans have skewed expectations from the players, thanks to the success of the Big 3 and Serena Williams. The 2025 Australian Open winner felt that Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Serena set a huge bar. She felt that even the players want to finish their careers with as many titles as possible.

"I think players and fans, I think we all kind of have a skewed perception of what a good career is now, because we have Novak, Rafa, Roger, Serena, like, they're winning 20 Grand Slams. That's insane. So, now I feel like the bar in people's minds is so skewed," Madison said on The Player's Box podcast.

As of 2025, Federer, Nadal, and Serena are retired with 20, 22, and 23 Grand Slam titles, respectively. Likewise, Djokovic is still active on the ATP division and has 24 Grand Slam titles to his name, which is the most for a Men's Singles player in the history of the sport.

"Winning one Grand Slam is something that you dream of when you're a little kid," - Madison Keys

Keys felt the expectations from fans were too high and added that, from the player's perspective, winning even one Grand Slam is a dream. She felt winning other titles apart from the Grand Slams was also an achievement in itself.

"Because it's like... people winning one Grand Slam is something that you dream of when you're a little kid. That's beyond. But the fact that there are people who were winning, like, 20, so now it's like, 'Wow, you never made a final?' And it's like, okay, well, you also did all of these other things that are absolutely amazing," Keys added.