"Oh I did it!’ and now I have to add something else?" - Madison Keys discusses how she adapted to Grand Slam triumph, whilst uncovering 'key' to her recent prosperity

This is Madison Keys' first US Open as a Grand Slam winner, having earlier this year defeated the number one in the world, Aryna Sabalenka, to the title in Melbourne. She will be aiming for more success at the event where she reached her first major final back in 2017.

Since that final, her Grand Slam form was very inconsistent. Marred with a host of opening round exits, she managed to reach four semi-finals, two of them at Flushing Meadows. In her 13 competitions at the tournament, those are the only three times she has ventured past the fourth round. She comes into the tournament as the number six in the world after a solid campaign. She has made it to three Masters 1000 quarter-finals, which included a semi-final at Indian Wells, along with a quarter-final at Roland Garros.

Full attention turns to the US Open, where she revealed in an intervew with Tennis.com that she did not want to go to the event as a fan, wanting her first time to be as a player. She said: “I had the opportunity to go to New York when I was 14. I said, ‘No, I don’t want to be at the US Open until I’m playing in it.’”

Two years later, she was in the second round of the main draw but was unable to progress any further. “I’d already won a main draw match against Jill Craybas on the old Grandstand, which, RIP Old Grandstand. And then I had such a close match against Lucie [Safarova] in the next round. I think she was seeded in something like the 30s or low 20s. I left the court feeling like, ‘I had a lot of opportunities.’ That was a big point for me where I felt like I could actually do this and make an impact.”

Now aged 30, the former number five in the world is running out of golden opportunities to lift her home Grand Slam. She has had many opportunities, and those previous expeditions have led to many nostalgic memories cropping up about the place, and the reason why it is one of her favourite events.

“I’m starting to realize like, as I’m getting older, there’s more and more places where I remember, ‘Oh, that doesn’t exist anymore,’” Keys said. “I think one of my favorite things at the US Open is like, if you can get there a little bit earlier and there aren’t tons of people there yet, I like to be able to walk from Ashe out of one of the side doors and walking along the Food Pavilion into the indoor building. Something about it makes me feel very grounded and like I’ve been here a million times. I’ve done this walk as a junior. Hopefully that doesn’t change, so I can always go back to that!”

The American went totally against the script in the Australian Open final, coming out on top against Sabalenka, who has reached every major hardcourt final since the start of 2023, winning three of them. She was the overwhelming favourite to do it again, but Keys managed to get the job done as the 19th seed. Keys had completed her dream, and while special, it took her some time to get to grips with it.

“Yeah, it was pretty great, I would recommend it for anyone who can do it," she said. "It’s definitely a unique experience and it’s one of those things where, when you’re setting all these goals, obviously you want to achieve them, but when you’re setting the goals you’re not thinking of what happens after you check them off the list. So, for me, this has been on my goal list for so many years that, to finally be able to be like, ‘Oh I did it!’ and now I have to add something else? It’s like, ‘Wait, I did the one thing that’s always been on my list'. So, that took a little bit of getting used to where I had to process the fact that, ‘I did the thing that I’ve always wanted to do.’”

The American could now start to focus on different goals, with a huge amount of pressure being relieved off her, which helped her carry on her good start of the season form. “I think I kind of lucked out by winning Australia and then having a little bit of time to kind of regroup. I’m also glad I took that time to take it all in so I could reset and get back on the court, create new goals to go after.”'

Along with her husband/coach Bruno Fratangelo, Keys had become addicted to nasal strips, which has helped her sleeping schedule to no end. She even partnered up with Breathe Right nasal strips. With sleep a big part of her functioning properly, it was very important that Keys sorted out a routine which would make her feel prepared and ready when entering the tennis court.

On her sleep, Keys said: “At first, it was more something I would use if I felt like I had allergies or if I was coming down with a cold. In the last five years, it’s become a routine part of my night. I’m very much a sleep princess, so there’s a whole routine and it has very quickly become an important step of that routine.”

“When I don’t sleep well, I notice it more in the decision-making. I think of it even as, if I don’t sleep amazingly…for example, the other night, I didn’t get as many hours of sleep because I finished late and was leaving early. All day yesterday, I felt like I couldn’t think probably. I couldn’t spell, I was messing up the words I was trying to say. Sleep is just so important to feeling good, and being on a tennis court, you want to feel at your best and like you’re able to control all the things you can control. And for me, that became about trying to get the best night’s sleep that I can. That’s a pretty easy controllable.”