Madison Keys credits therapy for unlocking her potential as grand slam winner

By Eleanor Crooks, PA Tennis Correspondent, Melbourne

Madison Keys credited lots of therapy for the mental unburdening that allowed her to realise a lifelong dream of winning a first grand slam title.

The American ended Aryna Sabalenka’s hopes of a third straight Australian Open title, seizing her moment to claim a 6-3 2-6 7-5 victory on Rod Laver Arena.

In the Open era, only Flavia Pennetta, Ann Jones and Francesca Schiavone have won maiden grand slam titles later into their career than 29-year-old Keys, who covered her face with her hands in delight and disbelief after sending a final forehand winner fizzing past Sabalenka.

It was not supposed to be this way for the power hitter who turned professional aged 14 having been tipped for greatness at an even younger age.

After crying in the arms of husband Bjorn Fratangelo, who agreed to become her coach last year, Keys thanked her team for believing in her “when I didn’t believe in myself”.

She added later in her press conference: “I think everything happens for a reason. I think, for me specifically, I had to go through some tough things.

“From a pretty young age, I felt like if I never won a grand slam then I wouldn’t have lived up to what people thought I should have been. That was a pretty heavy burden to carry around.

 

“So I finally got to the point where I was proud of myself and proud of my career, with or without a grand slam. I finally got to the point where I was OK if it didn’t happen.

“I feel like finally letting go of that internal talk that I had just gave me the ability to actually go out and play some really good tennis to actually win a grand slam.”

Keys reached her first slam semi-final a decade ago in Melbourne as a teenager and went one better at the US Open in 2017 only to be overcome by nerves and win just three games against her good friend Sloane Stephens.

There had been promising moments since, including four more slam semi-finals, the last of which saw Keys suffer one of her most heartbreaking defeats against Sabalenka at the US Open in 2023.

The American’s response was to turn to therapy.

“I had done it before, but it had always been, I think, too sports-specific,” she said. “I always went in with the thought of, ‘will this help me perform better?’ I finally got to the point where I was personally low enough that I was like, ‘I don’t really care if this helps me perform, I just want to feel better’.

“Just being really honest and actually getting help and actually talking to someone, and not just about tennis, but about how I felt about myself. Very uncomfortable. I never really like to be uncomfortable.

“I honestly think that, had I not done that, then I wouldn’t be sitting here. I think that everyone should be in therapy, no matter what.”

Keys spoke ahead of the match about learning from Sabalenka not to hold back in the big moments, and she could not have given a better demonstration, first in her nail-biting semi-final victory over Iga Swiatek and then with the trophy on the line.

Keys began much the better while Sabalenka’s serve and ground strokes misfired.

The American surged into a 5-1 lead before a little wobble that was ended by a searing backhand winner down the line on her second set point.

Sabalenka has been unstoppable at Melbourne Park for so long, though, and it was no surprise to see her wrest the momentum away from her opponent in the second set.

Heading into the decider, the world number one seemed to have the edge but Keys kept swinging, repelling Sabalenka’s attempts to force a break and then taking her chance spectacularly.

With a deciding tie-break looming, Keys stepped into the court and powered returns back at the feet of Sabalenka, bringing up two match points. The Belarusian saved the first one but on the second Keys sent a forehand arrowing into the corner.

“I just kept telling myself, ‘be brave, go for it, just lay it all out on the line’,” said Keys. “At that point, no matter what happens, if I do that, then I can be proud of myself. It just made it a little bit easier.”

Sabalenka had hoped to become only the sixth woman to win three consecutive Australian Open titles, and she was so furious at the end that she smashed her racket before walking off court.

“There definitely was a bit of frustration because I was so close to achieving something crazy,” she said.

“I just needed to throw those negative emotions at the end just so I could give a speech, not stand there being disrespectful. I was just trying to let it go and be a good person.”

Sabalenka joked in her on-court speech that she hated her team and did not want to see them for a week, but amid the disappointment was pride.

“Of course, I have to be proud of myself with three finals in a row,” she said. “That’s something crazy. I hope that next year I’ll come back as a better player, and I’ll hold Daphne (the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup) one more time.”