Madison Keys, the defending champion at the 2026 Australian Open, was asked about her viewing habits off court and made clear she is not choosing sides in the latest Real Housewives of Salt Lake City drama. The topic brightened a press session otherwise focused on the pressure of defending her maiden major.

Keys said she is still catching up on the series she first discussed publicly during the 2025 US Open. “I’ve got to catch up a little bit,” cautioned Keys, who first opened up about her love for the long-running *Housewives* franchise during the 2025 US Open . “I have a few more episodes of their Greek trip, and then the reunion. I’m really excited. I have to wait for a time where my husband’s not watching because he can’t handle the fighting. I find it very soothing.

“I try to watch it before bed. He hates it. I’m trying to find a little quiet time, like four hours, where I can just binge it all!”

Asked to weigh in on a growing feud between Heather Gay and Meredith Marks, Keys said she prefers to relish the ensemble nature of the show rather than pick a side. “You know, I feel like it really just depends on the episode where I end up,” she said with a laugh. “I really feel as though they’re all just doing their part to give us the best entertainment. They’re doing it well.

“I feel like I don’t even want to pick sides because I just hope that they continue to be the people that they are!”

With a major tournament looming, Keys reflected on the aftermath of her breakthrough in 2025, when she defeated Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka in successive matches to claim her first Grand Slam trophy. “Everyone keeps asking me how my life has changed,” Keys admitted. “It hasn’t changed that much, other than I have a really cool trophy at home. I have a lot of people that come up to me and tell me winning made them cry. I never thought I would have that ability.

“I think it’s just really been cool as an athlete to have had that impact on so many people. I’ve always tried to be very open and honest with everything that goes on in the sport, kind of do my part of humanizing this part of the sport. I think for me, the biggest thing that I feel like is a huge takeaway is I was able to do that. I don’t think very often in sport you see that you have the ability to make people cry happy tears.”

Aryna Sabalenka stands out as the draw’s dominant figure. Across the last 12 majors she has reached six finals, and since the start of 2023 she is 3-3 in Slam finals. She has been No. 1 for 65 straight weeks. In Melbourne specifically she has been both winner and runner-up: she captured the title in 2023 and 2024, and last year she lost a heartbreaker to Madison Keys in the final. Fresh off a 2025 US Open victory and an untroubled Brisbane title to open 2026, Sabalenka projects as the most likely player to reach the second week.

There are still test matches in her quarter. Emma Raducanu nearly took her in Cincinnati last summer, and Clara Tauson beat her 6-3, 6-2 in Dubai last winter. Jasmine Paolini, who would be a likely quarterfinal opponent, has lost five straight matches to Sabalenka, all in straight sets. A dark horse to watch in that area is Marta Kostyuk, who reached the Brisbane final after beating three higher seeds and shares Paolini’s section.

Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva occupy the same section and the matchup between them has felt like a future rivalry since their first meeting in 2023. Gauff leads their head-to-head 4-0. Seeds on Gauff’s side include Emma Navarro, Karolina Muchova and Marketa Vondrousova; Muchova, when healthy, is the most dangerous. Andreeva may open against Donna Vekic and could face Maria Sakkari early; Elina Svitolina, Diana Shnaider and Dayana Yastremska are notable names in her half. Venus Williams, 45, is 0-2 to start 2026 and could face Gauff if she gets past Olga Danilovic.

Three Americans, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula and defending champion Madison Keys, populate the opposite half and can all realistically reach the final. Anisimova sits with Sofia Kenin, Jelena Ostapenko and Linda Noskova nearby.

Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina bookend the bottom quarter. Swiatek is chasing a career Grand Slam and has had recent forehand issues in losses to Gauff and Belinda Bencic; Naomi Osaka, Liudmila Samsonova and Anna Kalinskaya sit in her path. Rybakina closed 2025 by winning the WTA Finals in Riyadh and should handle the early rounds before a possible fourth-round clash with Bencic, who posted a 9-1 United Cup run.

Projected semifinalists: Sabalenka, Gauff, Pegula, Rybakina
Projected final: Sabalenka d. Gauff; Rybakina d. Pegula