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 in regards to the troublesome means 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 remaining, made a number of modifications to her sport, 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 bought 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 stated of her remedy classes, which weren’t actually sport-specific.
Keys stated the remedy helped result in a lightbulb second that allowed her to handle her nerves higher than ever earlier than.
“For no matter motive, it was form of similar to this gentle bulb second the place I began actually shopping for into, I will be nervous and I can nonetheless play good tennis. These issues can dwell collectively,” she stated. “So I ended combating, 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 high quality they usually’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 feel every part form of occurs for a motive,” she stated. “I feel for me particularly, I form of needed to undergo some robust issues. I feel it simply form of pressured me to take a look at myself within the mirror a bit of bit and attempt to work on [dealing with] inside strain that I used to be placing on myself.
“From a fairly younger age, I felt like if I by no means gained a Grand Slam, then I would not have lived as much as what folks thought I ought to have been. That was a fairly heavy burden to form of carry round. So I lastly bought to the purpose the place I used to be happy with myself and happy with my profession, with or and not using a Grand Slam. I lastly bought 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 a very good profession or that I deserved to be talked about as an important tennis participant.
“I really feel like lastly letting go of that form of inside discuss that I had simply gave me the flexibility to truly exit and play some actually good tennis to truly win a Grand Slam.”