Madison Keys recently expressed her concerns about the WTA’s demanding schedule, describing the calendar as “draining” and stressful. Along with the former World No. 5, several other players have also voiced their dissatisfaction with the lengthy season, stating that it can lead to injuries and fatigue by the year’s end.
Madison Keys Talks About the Hectic WTA Schedule
During a recent episode of “The Player’s Box” podcast, Keys remarked that playing most tournaments throughout the season makes the year feel especially long for players.
The former Australian Open champion clarified that the length of the season isn’t due to an increase in the number of tournaments; rather, some existing tournaments have extended their duration to two weeks.
“It’s a long year, especially if you play like all of the weeks. I think for whatever reason, the schedule hasn’t necessarily gotten long. It’s not like we have to play more tournaments, but because a lot of the events have gone to two weeks, it’s like more weeks that you’re not at home, you’re at tournaments, there’s more downtime in between tournaments there,” Keys said.
Keys pointed out that the longer tournament durations create challenges for players who are eliminated early. They often have more than a week to wait before the next tournament starts, leaving them uncertain about how to fill that time. She noted that this gap feels like a “long time,” but is insufficient for them to return home, making the situation even more stressful.
“I think there’s more stress of, “Okay, if I lose early, what am I going to do for the next 10 days because I have a really long time and it’s not enough time to go home.” It’s like maybe enough time to go somewhere else and train, but not really,” she continued.
Keys also indicated that the extended length of tournaments adds extra stress for players, describing the emotional toll as “draining.”
“I just feel like there’s been a little bit of an extra layer of stress added to the calendar, just with one of the events being longer, and I think even though you have the day off in between, it just still feels more draining, and then the stress before every single match,” Keys added.
Keys’ last competition on the WTA Tour was at the 2025 US Open, where she participated in singles and mixed doubles events. In her singles campaign, she faced Renata Zarazúa in the first round and lost with a score of 7-6(10), 6-7(3), 5-7.
In the mixed doubles event, Keys partnered with compatriot Frances Tiafoe, and they were defeated with a 1-4, 2-4 score in the first round by the eventual runner-ups, the third-seeded duo of Iga Świątek and Casper Ruud.
Following the conclusion of her campaign at the US Open, Keys was slated to compete at the 2025 China Open and the Wuhan Open; however, she withdrew from both tournaments due to an injury.