Madison Keys is breathing easy ahead of first US Open as Grand Slam champion

NEW YORK—Madison Keys never wanted to come to the US Open as a fan.

“I had the opportunity to go to New York when I was 14,” Keys recalled last week. “I said, ‘No, I don’t want to be at the US Open until I’m playing in it.’”

Keys got her wish a year later. By 16, she was dreaming even bigger after a main-draw debut saw her nearly beat a seed on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

“I’d already won a main draw match against Jill Craybas on the old Grandstand, which, RIP Old Grandstand,” Keys told me, going on a brief tangent to mourn the original structure that housed both Armstrong and Grandstand courts until 2016. “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.”

Keys made the ultimate impact when, after a decade and a half on tour, she capturing her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. Long a contender for major glory, she revamped her game over the off-season, changing her racquet and tweaking her serve to clinch a triumphant two weeks with back-to-back victories over No. 2 Iga Swiatek and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

One can never quite anticipate the effect of finally landing that personal or professional white whale. Some can feel a certain level of disappointment, that the chase gave a greater high than the conquering. Not Keys.

“Yeah, it was pretty great, I would recommend it for anyone who can do it!” she laughed. “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.’”

Keys maintained a high level as she processed her career pinnacle, reaching the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open and three more quarterfinals at the Mutua Madrid Open, Roland Garros, and Omnium Banque Nationale.

“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.”

An improved sleep schedule proved essential in aiding that reset, Keys partnering with Breathe Right nasal strips after getting hooked on the product with husband-coach Bjorn Fratangelo.

“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,” said Keys. “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.”

“Bjorn will wear them to go work out. He walks around like, ‘I can see in color!’ He’s very dramatic,” she added, continuing her pitch. “You should try it. You’ll put it on and feel like, ‘Wow, I can breathe so much better.’”

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.’ Madison Keys on her Australian Open victory

In a sport determined by the narrowest margins, Keys is all too aware that excess fatigue can make all the difference in a close match.

“When I don’t sleep well, I notice it more in the decision-making,” said Keys. “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.”

Thanks to a year of rest, relaxation, and rewatching The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, the American is feeling in control heading into the final—and her favorite—major tournament of the year. Seeded sixth in her 14th US Open main draw appearance, the 30-year-old is eager to revisit her favorite spots at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center—even if much of the grounds have changed from her first visit at 15.

“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 joked.

“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!”

It turns out Keys found her fandom after 15 years on the US Open grounds. She now has two weeks to leave Flushing with the ultimate souvenir.