Madison Keys was the toast of tennis in January when she won the Australian Open to claim a maiden Grand Slam title.
The second half of the year hasn’t been quite as successful for the American, with Reneta Zarazua stunning her at the US Open as she lost in disappointing fashion.
Keys was tipped for success at the US Open but couldn’t prevail and found herself on the wrong end of one of the most shocking results of the tournament.
Keys remains the world number five, however, and having claimed a maiden Grand Slam title, it’s fair to say that this year still goes down as a successful one.
It would appear that Keys is an inspiration for her fellow players on the tour, with one player sharing just how highly she rates the 30-year-old.
Danielle Collins shares what she thinks of Madison Keys
It’s been a pretty poor year for Collins on the WTA Tour, and her first-round defeat at the US Open has basically summed up her whole year.
Collins made the final of the Australian Open in 2022 before losing to Ash Barty and that is the closest she has come to winning a major title.
Speaking on The Gay Tennis Podcast, Collins has now shared just how highly she rates Keys and how she’s proved an inspiration in her own career.
She said: “She inspires me. Just how she has evolved as a person and been so open about different things that she has worked through and different struggles and adversities that she has faced. And how she has been able to overcome all that and how genuinely she has spoken about all that.
“I love when people can go into these press conferences or the media opportunities and they offer substance to the conversation that inspires other people.
“We have all seen it. Understandably so. Some people aren’t as comfortable talking in front of the media as others, so I understand that.
“But I do think that something that is special about our sport is the outreach that we have to inspire young people and people who are going through different challenges.
“I think there are a lot of parallels in challenges that people have faced on a tennis court, compared to what people are going through in life.
“I just love when we have players like Madi who can speak so openly about their struggles and share her insight on how they were able to get through something that was dark or challenging and be a friend to other people. I think that is so special.”
Keys will hope to finish 2025 with a flourish
The year started with a bang and now Keys has a good chance to bring it back full circle and showcase that she’s capable of not being a one-hit wonder.
Keys has now qualified for the WTA Finals, and that definitely represents something to look forward to for the experienced player.
Keys has chosen to skip Wuhan, and it remains to be seen which tournaments she will compete in between now and the WTA Finals.
American tennis has enjoyed a brilliant year, and Keys has been a huge part of that, with the player now likely to have got a taste for more major honours before the curtain comes down on her career.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
