Madison Keys

Madison Keys
Country  United States
Residence Boca Raton, Florida
Born February 17, 1995
Rock Island, Illinois
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro February 17, 2009
Plays Right handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach(es) Lindsay Davenport
Prize money $1,861,455
Singles
Career record 134–82 (62.04%)
Career titles 1 WTA, 3 ITF
Highest ranking No. 17 (13 April, 2015)
Current ranking No. 17 (13 April, 2015)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open SF (2015)
French Open 2R (2013)
Wimbledon 3R (2013, 2014)
US Open 2R (2011, 2014)
Doubles
Career record 11–16
Career titles 0 WTA, 1 ITF
Highest ranking No. 115 (September 22, 2014)
Current ranking No. 166 (March 23, 2015)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open 3R (2014)
French Open 3R (2014)
Wimbledon 1R (2013)
US Open 2R (2012)
Last updated on: March 23, 2015.

Madison Keys (born February 17, 1995) is an American professional tennis player.

She plays right-handed with a double-handed backhand. Her highest junior ranking was no. 16 on September 12, 2011. Since the age of 9, Keys has been part of the Chris Evert Academy in Boca Raton, Florida. She is one of the youngest tennis players to win a match on the WTA Tour, at the age of 14 years and 48 days, by beating world no. 81 Alla Kudryavtseva at the 2009 MPS Group Championships.

On June 21, 2014, Keys won her first WTA Tour title, the Aegon International, a Premier event. On February 2, 2015, she entered the Top 20 for the first time in her career, following her semifinal appearance at the Australian Open.

Tennis career

2009–12: Early career

During her early years, Keys played mostly on the ITF tour, where she won three titles in singles and one in doubles.

Keys' first appearance on the WTA Tour came at the 2009 Ponte Vedra Beach Championships, where she received a wildcard into the main draw. She beat world no. 81 Alla Kudryavtseva in the first round, but she was then defeated by top seed Nadia Petrova in straight sets. In July 2009, Keys played World Team Tennis as a member of the Philadelphia Freedoms. Still only 14 years old, she beat reigning Wimbledon champion Serena Williams in women's singles by a score of 5–1.[1]

In 2011, Keys won a spot in her first US Open by beating Beatrice Capra in the finals of an eight-player wildcard playoff. Keys won her first match, beating fellow American Jill Craybas, but then lost in three sets to world #27 Lucie Šafářová.

In 2012, Keys won another wildcard competition amongst American players, this time for the 2012 Australian Open. However, she then lost in the first round to 2010 semi-finalist, Zheng Jie.

2013: Rising star

After losing in qualifying at her first event in Auckland, Keys reached the quarterfinals at a WTA event for the first time in 2013 Apia International Sydney, defeating Lucie Šafářová and Zheng Jie, avenging earlier Grand Slam losses to both players. She then lost to world #6 Li Na in three close sets. At the 2013 Australian Open, Keys beat Casey Dellacqua and 30th seed Tamira Paszek, before bowing out to 5th seed Angelique Kerber

After reaching the second round in both Indian Wells and Miami, Keys reached the quarterfinals in Charleston before losing to Venus Williams. Keys then claimed her first top ten win in 2013 Mutua Madrid Open Madrid, avenging her Sydney loss to Li Na, before losing to Anabel Medina Garrigues in the second round. Keys completed her clay court season at the 2013 French Open, winning her debut match at the event over Misaki Doi before losing to Monica Puig in straight sets.

Moving on the grass court season, Keys reached the quarterfinals at the Aegon Classic, beating Lesia Tsurenko, Jamie Hampton and Mona Barthel, before falling to Magdaléna Rybáriková. She later reached the third round at Wimbledon, before falling to world #4 Agnieszka Radwańska in three sets.

During the US hardcourt season, Keys won main draw matches at Stanford and Washington DC, but was defeated in the first round at the US Open by Jelena Janković. Keys finished her year at the HP Open in Osaka, and reached her first WTA semifinal, before losing to eventual champion Samantha Stosur. After a successful year on the tour, Keys finished 2013 ranked 37, an improvement of 112 places from 2012.

2014: First WTA title

Keys started the season reaching her first Premier semifinal in Sydney, cruising past Simona Halep in the process, but eventually losing to Angelique Kerber. At the Australian Open, Keys lost to Zheng Jie in the second round, after dropping a double break advantage in the final set. Until May, Keys had only once won back-to-back matches. It was in Miami, when she reached the third round, losing to Li Na, despite serving and having three set points to take a one set lead. In the Strasbourg she reached the semifinal, where she lost to Monica Puig in straight sets. At the French Open she lost in the first round to tenth seed and clay court specialist Sara Errani in three tight sets.

Keys won her first singles title at the Premier event in Eastbourne, beating two top ten players, first Jelena Janković and then Angelique Kerber in a three set final. At the Wimbledon Championships Keys followed that form to reach the third round, taking revenge on Puig for her earlier loss, and then beating 31st seed Klára Koukalová. Her run came to an end in the third round, when she was forced to retire against Yaroslava Shvedova before a second set tiebreak due to a leg injury.[2]

She took a two-week hiatus from tennis to focus on rehabbing her leg. Keys lost her opener in her first tournament back, in the Washington, D.C., before playing two matches at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. In Cincinnati she beat an in-form Alizé Cornet,[3] before pushing Maria Sharapova to three sets in the second round. At the US Open Keys was seeded for the first time at a Grand Slam, at number 27, but had a disappointing second round loss to Serbian qualifier Aleksandra Krunić, a match where both players had won the same amount of points.

Keys played four events in Asia, but didn't mark good results. Namely, she won only two matches at the first three events in Tokyo, Beijing and Wuhan. In the last tournament of the season in Osaka, she reached the quarterfinals and there she retired in the second set against Luksika Kumkhum.

Keys finished the season ranked 31 in the world, improving on 2013 by six places.

2015: Australian Open semi-final, top 20 debut

Prior to the 2015 season, Keys secured the services of former American world number one Lindsay Davenport as her coach. At the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament under this partnership, Keys reached her first Grand Slam semifinal, defeating three seeded opponents along the way. First, she defeated 29th seed Casey Dellacqua in three sets in the second round, then followed it up by upsetting reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová in straight sets in the third round.[4] After beating fellow American Madison Brengle in the fourth round, she defeated 18th Venus Williams in the quarter-finals in three sets, despite appearing to be injured during the second set.[5] She then faced world number one Serena Williams in the semi-finals, and although she played very well,[6] she lost the match in straight sets. After the match, Williams, who eventually went on to capture the title, spoke of a bright future for Keys, saying: "It was an honor for me to play someone who will be No. 1 in the future."[7]

After some struggles in Indian Wells and Miami, where she won just one match, she find her form back in Charleston, reaching final without dropping set. However, there she lost to Angelique Kerber, despite having 4–1 lead in third set.

Playing style

Keys plays right-handed, has powerful groundstrokes and dominant serves over 100 mph. Her service action is rare for the women's tour, opting for a platform style rather than the predominant pinpoint style service motion. Due to the height of her ball toss she, at times, faces inconsistency on serve. She is primarily an offensive baseline player and her game is built around taking control of rallies with powerful serves, return of serves and forceful groundstrokes off both forehand and backhand wings. She is equipped with capable volleying skills and overheads. The 2014 season has seen a great improvement in Keys' mobility around the court and she has now an effective defensive game, being capable of turning defensive play in to offensive play. It has been suggested that her playing style is similar to fellow American Jennifer Capriati.

Personal

Keys first became interested in tennis because she liked Venus Williams' white tennis dress, according to a video interview she conducted with World Tennis Magazine in August 2011. She also revealed that she is a fan of Roger Federer.[8] Her parents are Rick and Christine (attorneys); siblings are Sydney, Montana and Hunter.[9]

WTA career finals

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0)
Premier (1–1)
International (0–0)
Titles by surface
Hard (0–0)
Grass (1–0)
Clay (0–1)
Carpet (0–0)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. June 21, 2014 AEGON International, Eastbourne, United Kingdom Grass Germany Angelique Kerber 6–3, 3–6, 7–5
Runner-up 1. April 12, 2015 Family Circle Cup, Charleston, United States Clay Germany Angelique Kerber 2–6, 6–4, 5–7

WTA Challenger and ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner-up)

Legend
WTA Challenger 125s (0–0)
ITF $100,000 (0–0)
ITF $75,000 (1–0)
ITF $50,000 (1–0)
ITF $25,000 (0–1)
ITF $15,000 (0–0)
ITF $10,000 (1–0)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. June 27, 2010 Cleveland, United States Clay Finland Piia Suomalainen 6–2, 6–4
Runner–up 1. October 31, 2010 Bayamon, Puerto Rico Hard United States Lauren Davis 6–7(5–7), 4–6
Winner 2. October 28, 2012 Saguenay, Canada Hard (i) Canada Eugenie Bouchard 6–4, 6–2
Winner 3. November 11, 2012 Phoenix, United States Hard United States Maria Sanchez 6–3, 7–6(7–1)

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

Legend
WTA Challenger 125s (0–0)
ITF $100,000 (0–0)
ITF $75,000 (0–0)
ITF $50,000 (1–0)
ITF $25,000 (0–0)
ITF $15,000 (0–0)
ITF $10,000 (0–0)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1. July 15, 2012 Yakima, United States Hard United States Samantha Crawford China Xu Yifan
China Zhou Yimiao		 6–3, 2–6, [12–10]

Singles performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF R# RR LQ (Q#) A P Z# PO SF-B F-S G NMS NH

Won tournament; or reached Final; Semifinal; Quarter-final; Round 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a Round Robin stage; lost in Qualification Round; absent from tournament event; played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off; won a bronze, silver (F or S) or gold medal at the Olympics; a downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament (Not a Masters Series); or a tournament that was Not Held in a given year.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended.

Tournament2009201020112012201320142015W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A 1R 3R 2R SF 8–4
French Open A A A A 2R 1R 1–2
Wimbledon A A Q1 Q2 3R 3R 4–2
US Open A Q1 2R Q2 1R 2R 2–3
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 1–1 0–1 5–4 4–4 5–1 15–11

Doubles performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF R# RR LQ (Q#) A P Z# PO SF-B F-S G NMS NH

Won tournament; or reached Final; Semifinal; Quarter-final; Round 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a Round Robin stage; lost in Qualification Round; absent from tournament event; played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off; won a bronze, silver (F or S) or gold medal at the Olympics; a downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament (Not a Masters Series); or a tournament that was Not Held in a given year.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended.

Tournament20112012201320142015W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A 3R 1R 2–2
French Open A A 1R 3R 1–2
Wimbledon A A 1R 2R 1–2
US Open 1R 2R A A 1–2
Win–Loss 0–1 1–1 0–2 4–3 0–1 5–8

Top 10 wins per season

Season 2012 2013 2014 2015 Total
Wins 0 1 2 1 4

Wins over Top 10's per season

# Player Rank Event Surface Round Score
2013
1. China Li Na No. 5 Madrid, Spain Hard 1st Round 6–3, 6–2
2014
2. Serbia Jelena Jankovic No. 7 Eastbourne, United Kingdom Grass 1st Round 6–3, 6–3
3. Germany Angelique Kerber No. 9 Eastbourne, United Kingdom Grass Final 6–3, 3–6, 7–5
2015
4. Czech Republic Petra Kvitova No. 4 Melbourne, Australia Hard 3rd Round 6–4, 7–5

References

  1. ↑ Youngest player in WTT history (age 14) tops Serena Williams, sports.yahoo.com
  2. ↑ "Madison Keys forced to retire against Yaroslava Shvedova at Wimbledon". Daily Mail. June 30, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Madison Keys beats Alize Cornet in Cincinnati, Sharapova awaits". Cincinnati.com. August 11, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Australian Open: Madison Keys upsets Petra Kvitova to advance to fourth round". ABC Grandstand Sport (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 24 January 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Match Statistics".
  6. ↑ "Serena Williams vs Madison Keys statistics". Australian Open. January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Serena on Keys after semifinal clash". Twitter. January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  8. ↑ "The Changeover with Madison Keys". World Tennis Magazine. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Madison Keys profile". WTA.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Madison Keys.