Charlotte Invitational Exhibition Round-Up | Madison Keys overcomes tricky start to fend off Venus Williams as Tiafoe prevails against Fritz

A quadruplet of Americans have been competing in the Charlotte Invitational Exhibition as they look to get themselves match ready for the start to the 20206 campaign. One of which is Venus Williams, who was defeated 7-6(2), 6-0 to Australian Open champion Madison Keys. In the other match, Frances Tiafoe got the better of Taylor Fritz 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.

The four players put on a show in front of an excited crowd, fortunate enough to see some of the best tennis players in the world clash in a more relaxed environment. While there were smiles on court, there was some quality tennis being played, treating the crowd to a special night of tennis.

Williams is looking to continue her tennis career into 2026, as she is set to compete in the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. A return to the Australian Open is also on the cards, with her previously winning the event on four separate occasions. Despite having more success in Melbourne, Keys is the reigning champion and a dangerous competitor. She defeated Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka enroute to the biggest title of her career, pushing her up the rankings and giving her a big boost in qualifying for the WTA Finals.

She is under pressure to recuperate the ranking points clinched. It was not a great end to 2025 for her. She lost in the first-round of the US Open ahead of skipping the Asian swing due to injury. Her return to the WTA Final ended after her second match due to illness. She is now determined to get back to her best. Even though it is an exhibition, she is back winning tennis matches.

She found herself in a precarious situation in the first set, 5-6 down as Williams looked to close out the set. Keys found a way back into it before demolishing her opponent in a tiebreaker. She would then breeze through the second set as she triumphs in the Charlotte Invitational for the second year running. Disappointment for Williams, whose level massively dropped after a competitive first set. She may have been struggling with a shoulder injury which hampered her progress, but promising signs from the 45-year-old.

It is fair to say that 2025 was an average year for Tiafoe. He showed a lot of promise at the end of 2024 with a US Open semi-final and a Cincinnati Open final run. However, he was unable to continue this as he plummeted down the rankings to the cusp of a seeding spot for Grand Slams. He is set to compete on the weekend in A Racquet at The Rock in New Jersey, where he will face world number one Carlos Alcaraz.

He will go into the tie with confidence after getting the better of fellow American Taylor Fritz. The world number six took the first set in a tight battle, but his compatriot was not letting him get away that easily. He levelled up the tie forcing a first to 10 tiebreaker. Similar to the rest of the tie, it was a very close one. Fortunately for Tiafoe, he was able to prevail to secure the first of hopefully two wins in the States.