Madison Keys won the first Grand Slam title of her career at the Australian Open earlier this year.
Keys beat Aryna Sabalenka to win the Australian Open back in January, and also had to save a match point in her semi-final against Iga Swiatek.
This is something that the American had been expected to achieve from a young age, with Keys looking to win more Grand Slams now.
Her bid to achieve that at the French Open has now come to an end, with Keys being beaten by Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals.
While winning the Australian Open is still the biggest achievement of Keys’ career so far, 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert believes it has also come with its downsides.
Chris Evert says something has happened to Madison Keys that ‘won’t sit well with her’
Keys is someone whom Evert knows well, having trained at her academy from 10 years of age.
During her quarter-final match against Gauff, seven-time French Open champion Evert was on commentary for TNT Sports and spoke about how Keys’ profile has changed in America.
While this may be seen as a positive thing for some players, Evert suggested that Keys would not be enjoying this newfound attention.
“She’s definitely being more recognised, I’ve already seen two new advertisements on American TV so she’s getting a few more endorsements and I know tournaments want her to play,” said Evert.
“She’s a very, very private person and she’s, she’s just not outgoing and she’s like ‘Woah’. This attention I don’t think is going to sit that well with her, because she values her privacy especially since getting married.”
Evert continued, “Very humble, I’ve known her since she was 10-years-old, she trained at my tennis academy down in Florida for about six years, so we pretty much started her into the game and she went on as she turned pro.
“She worked with the USTA, she worked with Lindsay Davenport, she’s had a lot of good coaches since then. But, it’s taken a while for her to mature into the competitor with a positive mindset as we see now.”
What is next for Madison Keys?
After her three set defeat to Gauff in the French Open quarter-finals, Keys will now switch her attention to the grass court season.
Despite winning her only Grand Slam title on hard courts, Keys has claimed grass is her favourite surface.
Keys’ grass court season ended in heartbreak last year, as she was forced to retire at Wimbledon with a hamstring injury.
The world number eight will be hoping for a different outcome this year, and is scheduled to play her first grass court tournament at Queen’s Club.
Keys will be the third seed at the returning WTA tournament beginning on Monday, June 9, before heading to the German capital of Berlin ahead of Wimbledon.
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