As Madison Keys gears up for a blockbuster quarterfinal clash against fellow American Coco Gauff at the 2025 French Open, the 30-year-old veteran is taking a moment to reflect on the matchup.
While their sixth career meeting promises to be a physical battle on the red clay of Roland Garros, Keys revealed that her connection with Gauff runs deeper than their head-to-head record.
Madison Keys Will Take On Coco Gauff for the Sixth Time on the WTA Tour
Currently making her 13th appearance at the French Open, Keys has stormed into the last eight with commanding wins over Daria Saville, Katie Boulter, 31st seed Sofia Kenin, and Hailey Baptiste. Now, as the seventh seed in Paris, she’s set to take on second seed Gauff on June 4.
While Keys leads their rivalry 3-2, the Florida native knows it’ll take more than past success to overcome a player who has evolved into one of the most formidable clay-court competitors on the tour.
“She’s obviously pretty dominant on clay,” Keys said during her post-match press conference after defeating Baptiste in the fourth round. “I would say it’s probably one of her best surfaces to play on. So it’s obviously a big challenge.”
Discussing strategy, Keys emphasized the physical and mental grind of playing against Gauff. “For me, it’s going to be a lot about trying to balance going after things, but knowing with her ability to cover the court, you’re going to have to win the point multiple times before it’s actually over,” she explained. “That’s always one of the trickier things when you’re playing someone who moves as well as she does.”
The 2017 US Open finalist also pointed to Gauff’s ability to flip points quickly if she gains control of the rally. “You also have the threat against her that if at any point you kind of lose control of the point, she’s going to be the aggressor. So I think the biggest thing is the balance of going for things but with enough margin that it’s a repeatable ball, shot after shot.”
Beyond tactics and form, Keys was candid when asked about her relationship with Gauff, who also hails from the state of Florida, and how their personal connection adds to their rivalry. Keys chuckled as she recalled meeting a young Gauff long before the teenager made her mark on the tour.
“In my head, she was like nine years old,” Keys said with a smile. “She was so young and not even on the pro tour yet. Just kind of watching her play, I knew that she was going to be someone that was going to be pretty dominant pretty quickly.”
“She just carried herself with such poise for as young as she is,” Keys added. “Even to this day, I’m always so impressed by the way that she handles the pressure. All of it, at such a young age, is one of the things that I think she’s done a phenomenal job at.”
Keys admitted that their nine-year age gap leads to some amusing generational disconnects. “Sometimes I feel very old when talking to Coco because she says things, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I don’t get that.’ So there’s definitely a big age gap that is sometimes shockingly obvious.”
