Madison Keys became part of an exclusive group after winning the Australian Open title earlier this year.
Keys won her first Grand Slam in Melbourne back in January, beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final to do so.
The American has been unable to add to her trophy cabinet since then, with Keys most recently losing to Peyton Stearns at the Italian Open.
This has led to concerns for Keys ahead of the French Open, with the world number seven now admitting that she has struggled with something recently.
Madison Keys surprised by what has happened to her for the first time in years recently
Keys had been backed to achieve big things from early on in her career, and reached her first major final at the 2017 US Open.
However, it took until she was 29 years old for Keys to win her first Grand Slam, which consequently elevated her status in the sporting world.
When speaking to Rolandgarros.com about her experience since winning the Australian Open, Keys admitted that the change in how she is viewed on the WTA Tour has taken time to get used to.
“I think the biggest thing that kind of surprised me is that it took a little while to feel comfortable again,” admitted Keys.
“And I was thinking about it the other day because it’s a ‘first’ in my career for the first time in a really long time. It’s been many, many years since I’ve had to ever walk into a tournament and feel like there was something different.
“So that took a little bit of getting used to and I definitely felt, through Indian Wells, Miami, Charleston, I just felt a little bit uncertain, or I was pressing a little bit more and just was putting more pressure on myself.
“It just took a little bit of time to get used to it and resettle and I feel like I’ve done a good job here so far. Just staying way more present and really just focusing on each match.”
Madison Keys explains how exhausting winning the Australian Open was
Keys made history at the Australian Open, beating both top two seeds Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek in back-to-back matches.
Although it was her biggest on-court accomplishment to date, Keys has now explained how much it took out of her mentally.
“I think the biggest thing was that winning the Australian Open was the greatest but most exhausting thing that I’ve ever done in my career,” admitted Keys.
“I don’t think you really appreciate how much of an emotional toll it takes on you, and it was a lot. I got home, and there was so much media and everything, and then to finally just sit there, it was like a week later, and I was like, ‘Man, I am tired.’ So [skipping the Middle East was about] just being really conscious of doing what I want to do.
“And I think the other thing is, there’s kind of a spotlight again all of a sudden, and I think for a long time I lived under the radar and just did my thing, and then all of a sudden it was like everyone wanted to talk again, so it was kind of a big shift really quickly.
“I just knew that for me to enjoy myself at this point in my career and really just this period of my life, I just wanted to make sure that I’m doing the things that I want to do.”
Keys will now be looking to continue her Grand Slam winning run at the French Open, where she is a former semi-finalist.
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