Madison Keys is one of those people who makes the world feel like a better place.
When she says she looked up to Roger Federer for his class and positive attitude on court, it isn’t hard to spot that she has replicated those values.
Talking after her solid 6-4, 6-2 second round win over Olga Danilovic on Day 3 of The Championships, she spoke with the wise bearing of a person who understands what’s important in life. That perspective is quite something in a sphere requiring such relentless inward-looking self-examination as tennis, where so many can struggle.
“Therapy has been incredibly helpful to me,” the Australian Open champion acknowledged frankly. “I tried sports psychologists, where everything was so focused on just the tennis, which was not as helpful as I needed it to be. Looking at my overall life made the biggest difference to me.
“In our sport, our identity becomes very wrapped up in being a tennis player from a very young age. When you have tough weeks, months, years on tour, it can really take a toll on how you think about yourself.
“Knowing you’re not just a tennis player but a full person with other really great attributes in your life was really important for me.”
It’s been a memorable 12 months for Keys. This time last year she was two points from her third career Wimbledon quarter-final, having fought back from a set and a break down to Jasmine Paolini.
Under the No.1 Court roof, while thunder boomed overhead, they carved out an absolute thriller until Keys pulled her hamstring in mid-serve, leaving her weeping with so much pain that she was forced to call a halt at 5-5 in the deciding set.
Knowing you’re not just a tennis player but a full person with other really great attributes in your life was really important for me.
Her competitive year stalled somewhat from that moment, although her November wedding to her partner of seven years (and her coach since 2023) Bjorn Fratangelo provided an ecstatic counterpoint.
Then came her magical Australian Open odyssey. Her competitive hunger sustained her when five of her matches went the distance (including all of her last four rounds); she saved match point in her semi-final against Iga Swiatek before downing Aryna Sabalenka in astonishing style.
It made Keys the first player to defeat both the world No.1 and No.2 at any Slam since Svetlana Kuznetsova at Roland-Garros in 2009.
It obliterated the long-ago disappointment of the US Open final in 2017, when she left her game in the locker room against good friend Sloane Stephens. Now she is back in SW19, bidding to become the first woman to win the Australian Open and Wimbledon in the same year since Serena Williams a decade ago.
In Monday’s first round the 30-year-old No.6 seed admits she “dodged a bullet” in a gruelling three-setter against Elena-Gabriela Ruse. The second round saw her back on the same No.2 Court against Danilovic, but this time her authority rarely wavered – a relief, she freely admitted, after being so near to joining the shoal of seeds already toppled from each singles draw.
“I think everyone is just tired – the season has been long already,” she said. “It’s hard, and those ranked higher have played more than others. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and people will have dips.”
Not to mention more difficult mental challenges for those struggling with all the other demands of the tennis tour. So what is the patent Keys’ recipe for staying mentally well?
“Have a really great support system,” she smiled, “and stay off Twitter.”