By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday January 28, 2025
Madison Keys needed to let go of her hopes and desires to realize them.
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After finishing her dramatic run to her maiden main title over the weekend in Melbourne, the American talked concerning the troublesome strategy of coping with expectations and making sense of her personal emotions with regard to her profession.
Keys, who edged World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s closing, made a number of adjustments to her recreation, most notably her serve, and in addition modified racquets and strings within the low season.
However she additionally noticed a therapist, and he or she says that it was one of many issues that helped her really unlock her finest self.
“I lastly acquired to the purpose the place I used to be personally low sufficient that I used to be like, I do not actually care if this helps me carry out, I simply wish to really feel higher,” Keys mentioned of her remedy periods, which weren’t actually sport-specific.
Keys mentioned the remedy helped result in a lightbulb second that allowed her to handle her nerves higher than ever earlier than.
“For no matter purpose, it was type of identical to this mild bulb second the place I began actually shopping for into, I might be nervous and I can nonetheless play good tennis. These issues can reside collectively,” she mentioned. “So I finished preventing, attempting to push away the sentiments and pretending that they don’t seem to be there and simply accepting them and actually telling myself that they are advantageous and so they’re completely regular to be there, and I can nonetheless play tennis.”
Greater than something, Keys made strides in her personal thoughts, and eventually accepted her profession for what it was. There wasn’t a Grand Slam title on her resume, however did it actually matter? She determined that her profession was distinctive, with a Slam or with out..
“I believe all the things type of occurs for a purpose,” she mentioned. “I believe for me particularly, I type of needed to undergo some powerful issues. I believe it simply type of compelled me to have a look at myself within the mirror slightly bit and attempt to work on [dealing with] inner stress that I used to be placing on myself.
“From a reasonably younger age, I felt like if I by no means received a Grand Slam, then I would not have lived as much as what folks thought I ought to have been. That was a reasonably heavy burden to type of carry round. So I lastly acquired to the purpose the place I used to be pleased with myself and pleased with my profession, with or with no Grand Slam. I lastly acquired to the purpose the place I used to be okay if it did not occur. I did not want it to really feel like I had an excellent profession or that I deserved to be talked about as an awesome tennis participant.
“I really feel like lastly letting go of that type of inner speak that I had simply gave me the flexibility to really exit and play some actually good tennis to really win a Grand Slam.”
