The last time Madison Keys won a tournament the week before a Grand Slam, it was Adelaide, the week before the 2025 Australian Open. She went on to have one of the most impressive Grand Slam runs of the decade and claimed the Australian Open title.
Now, Keys is coming off a title in Eastbourne, her first title since that Australian Open win, and things are lining up well for her ahead of Wimbledon. With a solid draw and excellent form, Keys has the tools for a potential surprise run.
Eastbourne, Again
This isn’t the first time Keys has won Eastbourne. It isn’t even the second. Keys has now won this title three times: 2014, 2023, and now 2026.
In 2014, Keys’ Wimbledon run was cut short as she was forced to retire in her third-round match. Before that happened, though, she upset 31st seed Klara Koukalova. Nine years later, Keys won Eastbourne again and made her second Wimbledon quarterfinal, where she lost to second seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Keys tends to play herself into form. Her 2017 US Open final run was preceded by winning the Silicon Valley Classic a few weeks before. Her Australian Open title run came after claiming the title in Adelaide. She hasn’t yet had a moment like this at Wimbledon, but with Eastbourne the third time could be the charm.
Building Momentum
Keys’ season has been on the upswing began not with a big tournament, but with a WTA 125. After a relatively disappointing first half of the season, Keys turned an early loss in Rome into a final showing at the 125 in Paris. Keys was leading in the final, too, but was forced to retire due to injury. Despite the disappointing end, though, it was a solid run that was a sign of things to come.
At the French Open, Keys upset ninth seed Victoria Mboko in a fourth-round run. And once grass season got going, so too did Keys. Starting off in Berlin, she upset seventh seed Karolina Muchova to make the quarterfinals, where she lost in two close tiebreaks to third seed Jessica Pegula.
And it all clicked in Eastbourne. Seeded second, Keys was utterly dominant, not dropping a set en route to the title. In the final, she took out Tatjana Maria, a player known for her prowess on the grass. Keys’ form has been slowly building up in the last few weeks, and she’s finding her best tennis at exactly the right time.
A Viable Wimbledon Draw
When the Wimbledon draw came out, Keys landed in the section of sixth seed Amanda Anisimova, last year’s finalist. While that’s a tough draw on paper, Anisimova has struggled this year and is one of the more vulnerable top seeds, something an experienced player like Keys could take advantage of.
The projected match against Anisimova would come in the third round. Before that, Keys takes on qualifier Kayla Day in her first-round match. Day came through qualifying without dropping a set, but she’s never been in the main draw of Wimbledon, making Keys a heavy favorite. Should Keys play to her seed, she’ll face either wildcard Katie Swan or Irina-Camelia Begu.
It’s one match at a time, but if Keys can keep up her form she has a chance to go far–and maybe even shock the tennis world once again.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images
