{"id":11516,"date":"2025-01-25T16:29:50","date_gmt":"2025-01-25T16:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/?p=11516"},"modified":"2025-01-25T16:29:50","modified_gmt":"2025-01-25T16:29:50","slug":"madison-keys-rise-to-glory-from-teen-sensation-to-grand-slam-champion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/?p=11516","title":{"rendered":"Madison Keys&#8217; Rise to Glory: From Teen Sensation to Grand Slam Champion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/uwordpressmedia.blob.core.windows.net\/uwordpressmedia01\/2025\/01\/2fd330b0-2840-4361-a356-a61611bee919.avif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11517\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uwordpressmedia.blob.core.windows.net\/uwordpressmedia01\/2025\/01\/2fd330b0-2840-4361-a356-a61611bee919.avif 900w, https:\/\/uwordpressmedia.blob.core.windows.net\/uwordpressmedia01\/2025\/01\/2fd330b0-2840-4361-a356-a61611bee919-300x200.avif 300w, https:\/\/uwordpressmedia.blob.core.windows.net\/uwordpressmedia01\/2025\/01\/2fd330b0-2840-4361-a356-a61611bee919-768x512.avif 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Madison Keys (29) arrived in Australia under the radar and with the modest goal of seeing how well she could perform with her 30th birthday looming next month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The resilient American now has the answer after defeating two-time defending champion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flashscore.com.gh\/player\/sabalenka-aryna\/vyhksgUB\/\">Aryna Sabalenka<\/a> in three sets in Saturday&#8217;s Australian Open final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flashscore.com.gh\/player\/keys-madison\/QwU996PK\/\">Keys<\/a>&#8216;s first major title, having reached a second Grand Slam final eight years after her first in New York. She lost on that occasion to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flashscore.com.gh\/player\/stephens-sloane\/21U8Dqna\/\">Sloane Stephens<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 6-3, 6-0 loss has rankled ever since, but it was also a learning experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&#8220;I think during that match I was so consumed with being nervous and the moment and the opportunity and all of that, that I never really gave myself a chance to actually play,&#8221;<\/strong> she said this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&#8220;I think the big thing for me has just been knowing that there are going to be a lot of moments where I&#8217;m uncomfortable in the match.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&#8220;It&#8217;s going to be stressful. You have thousands of people watching you.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Women&#039;s Singles Trophy Ceremony | Madison Keys &amp; Aryna Sabalenka | Australian Open 2025\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ty-n2ZlokOM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now ranked 14, Keys will return to the top 10 for the first time since 2019 next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She made her first semi-final at Melbourne Park in 2015 as a prodigious 19-year-old to showcase her potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A decade on, she defeated world number two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flashscore.com.gh\/player\/swiatek-iga\/jNyZsXZe\/\">Iga Swiatek<\/a> in the last four this time to set up a showdown with world number one Sabalenka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Belarusian had been attempting to become the first woman to win three Melbourne crowns in a row since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flashscore.com.gh\/player\/hingis-martina\/6J0pscT7\/\">Martina Hingis<\/a> from 1997-1999.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Keys, the 19th seed and underdog, made a nonsense of all that to clinch the title <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flashscore.com.gh\/match\/IoOtmt8U\/#\/match-summary\/\">6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in an absorbing final.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&#8216;Sharpening the axe&#8217;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Keys ended her season early in October last year and married her coach, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flashscore.com.gh\/player\/fratangelo-bjorn\/nRBUSXk3\/\">Bjorn Fratangelo<\/a>, a month later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The two players had been dating since 2017 and Fratangelo became her coach in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fratangelo told reporters on the eve of the final that he felt Keys&#8217;s best was yet to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&#8220;I think she&#8217;s nowhere near her full potential,&#8221;<\/strong> said Fratangelo, a fellow American who won the boys&#8217; singles at the 2011 French Open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&#8220;Sharpening the axe can get you so far, but sometimes you just need new tools. I think that&#8217;s what I&#8217;ve tried to bring to the table.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Aryna Sabalenka vs Madison Keys | Women&#039;s Singles Final | Australian Open 2025 Extended Highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VRreJTynMUk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Sabalenka and Keys both boast a power game that can overwhelm opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After losing the semi-final, Swiatek talked about Keys&#8217;s &#8220;bravery&#8221; in going for big shots at big moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fratangelo described Sabalenka on the eve of the final as &#8220;a little more of the polished version of Madison&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&#8220;But what I&#8217;ve seen from her now is just what the greats do,&#8221;<\/strong> he said of Keys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&#8220;They have the ability to raise the level when it matters most.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so it proved on Saturday as Keys clinched the 10th title of her career, and biggest, for an early 30th birthday present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keys did it the hard way, beating former Melbourne finalists <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flashscore.com.gh\/player\/collins-danielle\/pS5UjYbG\/\">Danielle Collins<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flashscore.com.gh\/player\/rybakina-elena\/UDzElXdm\/\">Elena Rybakina<\/a> on the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She then came from a set down and saved a match point against world number two Swiatek in the semi-finals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Madison Keys (29) arrived in Australia under the radar and with the modest goal of seeing how well she could perform with her 30th birthday [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11517,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11516"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11520,"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11516\/revisions\/11520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}