Madison Keys on Saturday won the Australian Open for her first career major. The 29-year-old has been a mainstay on tour for over a decade and has been going deep in majors since 2015. But it wasn’t until this week that she reached a grand slam final for the first time since 2017. Then she took things a step further and pulled off a surprising win over top seed Aryna Sabalenka with a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
What allowed Keys to finally capture her first major? She was asked that question after the match and revealed that a change in her mindset made a big difference.
“I think I’ve done a lot of work to no longer need this. I really wanted it, but it was no longer the thing that was going to define me. Kind of letting go of that burden finally gave myself the ability to actually play for it,” Keys said.
Madison Keys says letting go of the burden of winning a major is what gave her the "ability to actually play for it." 👏 🏆 #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/JFJtG4mFDs
— ESPN (@espn) January 25, 2025
That’s super interesting and shows how much the mental aspect of the game makes a difference. Keys’ implication is maybe that she played a little tighter because she had been putting so much pressure on herself in the past. Letting go of that pressure allowed her to play more freely and unlock a better part of her game.
This was the seventh time in her career that Keys had reached at least the semifinals of a major. Now she has finally captured her first grand slam title — something she had been trying to earn her whole career.
