It was a lighthearted but competitive match between Madison Keys and Venus Williams in front of a packed crowd at the Charlotte Invitational. Keys’ childhood idol is Venus Williams and the reason that she started playing tennis.
Well that was fun 😅👏
Madison Keys defeats her idol Venus Williams in the Charlotte Invitational! pic.twitter.com/oqJ6525zFM
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) December 5, 2025
Venus Williams is showing us that age is merely a number, and she plays the game with joy. Williams also admits after years of not being healthy with injuries and her autoimmune disease that she feels great now. She is also a newlywed, married in the fall to Italian boyfriend Andrea Preti.
Madison Keys celebrates her first year of marriage, married last November to coach Bjorn Fratangelo. The 2025 Adelaide and Australian Open champion had a phenomenal start to the season and the maiden Grand Slam was my favorite WTA tennis moment of the year. Keys conquered the gauntlet of top players and her nerves to get that monumental win.
The Charlotte Invitational is all about showing off American tennis to an area of the US that does not see much action during the regular season.
2026 Brings Big Questions For Both Keys And Williams
Keys has a lot of points to defend at the beginning of the season. How relaxed will she be going to Australia trying to make magic happen again? As Chris Eubanks said on the Tennis Channel broadcast, players react differently when defending big titles and points. He was hopeful that Fratangelo would be able to keep Keys calm and loose like she was this year.
Williams has been evasive about her 2026 schedule. She is playing Auckland but has not committed beyond that. Could she be a disruptive force on the WTA Tour? It could make things interesting especially if Serena Williams rejoins the tour later in the year. The biggest tennis news of the week was that Serena was on the anti-doping list for 2026. Though she denies a comeback, Eubanks provided great insight on this issue as well. He says that Serena probably still has the competitive fire and wants to keep her options open. Of course, Venus was asked about the Serena news and managed to shake off the question of her younger sister’s potential return or a Williams sisters doubles return by saying she cannot get Serena to practice.
