Anyone with their eye on the tennis world knows that 23-year-old Madison Keys is the athlete to watch. At such a young age, Keys has already made her debut in the top 10 world rankings and will be playing in tournaments all over the world—the U.S. open included. With such an impressive past and a promising future ahead, we’ve been dying to learn more about the star. So, we recently caught up with her to discuss her new partnership with Acuvue for their #SeeItThrough campaign and learn all about her healthy habits that keep her in tip top shape. Read on!
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NewBeauty: Why did you decide to partner with Acuvue?
Madison Keys: I decided to partner with Acuvue because I was having a really tough time with the contacts I was using and was looking for something more comfortable. Then, I looked into Acuvue and realized they also had this amazing campaign of #SeeItThrough, which works with people setting goals and doing there best to achieve them. It all felt so in line with what I try to do every day, that it just seemed like a really natural, easy partnership.
NB: How has eyesight affected your tennis performance over the years?
MK: Eyesight is obviously really important for tennis players because there are so many moving parts to tennis. The ball is constantly moving and it’s coming at different speeds with different spins, so being able to see clearly that is very important. For a while I was having a really tough time judging distances and that was obviously something I needed to get fixed to be able to perform better.
NB: Off the tennis court, what workout do you feel has changed your body the most in terms of improving your fitness level?
MK: My biggest thing was that I had to get really creative with how to add cardio into my workouts because I do not enjoy doing it at all. So, I found that if I did some sort of circuit—a quick movement, lifting or a combination of both, and doing five to six of those exercises back to back—I could get my cardio up. It made me feel like I can last longer on the court and not do the boring “just go run for 30 minutes” workout.
NB: Tennis is such a physically demanding sport. On a typical day, what do you normally eat to fuel your workouts?
MK: On regular day, I usually start my morning off with either some sort of overnight oats or a frozen waffle with almond butter and fruit. I like something that’s really quick and easy because I’m not a morning person and it’s really tough for me to get out of bed. So, I really like the quick and easy pre-made stuff. I usually follow that up with some sort of quick snack, whether its a handful of nuts, or trail mix that I can have in between my tennis matches and gym workout. Then I have lunch and my go-to is usually a salad with a little bit of carbohydrates so that I have the energy to workout later. When I workout again in the afternoon, I follow that up with a protein shake. Dinner is usually protein and a vegetable.
NB: What healthy habit do you always stick to?
MK: My big healthy habit is to eat vegetables at least twice a day. Sometimes if I wake up earlier, I even try and throw [vegetables] in for breakfast too. On a good week, I will try and have vegetables with every meal—that’s kind of like my way of feeling like I’m getting all the nutrients I need to stay healthy.
