The Keys to Success: Madison Keys Begins Rise to Stardom

At the 2013 Australian Open, Sloane Stephens, 19-years-old at the time, beat Serena Williams in a tense quarterfinals match, leading everyone to believe she had a huge opportunity ahead of her. Stephens has not lived up to those expectations so far.

At this year’s Aussie Open, another American, 19-year-old Madison Keys, stepped into the spotlight and staked her claim as “The Next Great American Women’s Player.”

Keys got by Australian crowd favorite Casey Dellacqua, the 29th seed, in the second round. She followed that up by upsetting two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in round three.

Against Madison Brengle in round four, another young American, Keys showed her class. In a performance that one would expect from a veteran, she did exactly what she had to do. She played solid tennis, playing patiently and aggressively to overpower her opponent and hit her way into the quarterfinals against Venus Williams.

That is where a future prospect became a current star.

Venus, a former world number one and seven-time Grand Slam champion, is still one of the best on the Tour, and is always difficult to deal with given her still-big serve.

Keys did not play her best match, what she would hope for heading into such a pressure-filled situation. Under the world’s watchful eye, she made 45 unforced errors, compared to 34 winners. On a normal day, those numbers would signify a loss.

The Rock Island, Ill. native was victorious over Venus, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, to reach her first career major semifinals.

The teenager did not play particularly well against one of the hottest players on the WTA Tour, yet she managed to find a way to win over Venus. That is the mark of a champion, and that is why Keys will eventually become the face of the circuit and presumably win many, many titles.

In the semifinals, Keys forced Serena to scratch and claw in a neck-and-neck first set of their encounter, but did not have enough in her arsenal to overcome the eventual 2015 Aussie Open champion, falling to Serena 6-7, 2-6. What shone through, however, was her will to win on one of the grandest of stages.

John Evert is the founder and managing partner of the Evert Tennis Academy (ETA), brother of ETA co-owner Chris Evert, and coached Keys from the ages of 10-17.

“She came to us when she was 10 as a summer camper,” said John Evert. “I met with her parents and her parents told me she had watched Venus Williams on TV. She liked Venus’ outfit and she decided then she wanted to be a tennis player because of the outfits.”

By the time she was in the final year of the 12s, Madison won both the Eddie Herr and the Orange Bowl. She went from not being on the radar at all, to the top of her age bracket.

“She was probably two to three levels behind when she came to us, not even in the top 50 in the country in her age group when she started,” said Evert. “I saw a big, tall and strong explosive athlete. I think her physical tools were obvious from the beginning, and an emotional and mental growth has taken place. Her hand-eye coordination wasn’t quite there, but she was only 10 when she first came to us and was taller than everybody else there. There was explosiveness … a big and tall athlete, but sometimes it takes a little while to develop that hand-eye coordination.”

Madison Keys, as she continues to develop under the tutelage of coach Lindsay Davenport, who was a top player herself for many years, will end up having the biggest groundstrokes in the game. Owning one of the better serves on the WTA Tour is pretty nice to put in her pocket as well.

“I think Madison can walk on the WTA Tour with anyone right now, and if she’s playing well, can beat anyone,” said Evert. “I think she is going to take a lot away from her performance at the Australian Open. The next step is finishing and winning those last four sets to finish a tournament. I think once she does it once, there is no limitation. The sky’s the limit for Madison, and I think she’s right there.”

But, no matter how hard she will be able to hit the ball and where she will be able to place it, nothing will be able to replicate the characteristics of a natural competitor. If she continues to reproduce what she showed in Australia, that will be what distinguishes Madison Keys from the rest of her WTA Tour counterparts in 2015 and beyond.