Googling “Madison Keys” yields what you might expect to see when searching for any modern-day athlete: an official website, Wikipedia page and requisite social media accounts. But one search result about the world’s 13th-ranked player caught my eye, just days before she was scheduled to begin her Italian Open campaign. It read: “The terrible season of Madison Keys.”
While that click-driven headline may sound a bit harsh, considering Keys missed the first two months of the season due to wrist surgery, Rome would be an ideal and appropriate location for the American to start turning her season around. Keys reached her first WTA Premier 5 final at the Foro Italico, 12 months ago. She won four straight-setters on clay, including upsets of Petra Kvitova and Garbine Muguruza, plus a tricky three-set quarterfinal against Barbora Strycova. Only Serena Williams could halt Keys’ run in Rome, and it wasn’t easy—the elder compatriot prevailed 7-6 (5), 6-3.
“I think Madison is a great player,” Williams said after their title bout last year. “I really do. I always have. I feel like she has potential to be the best in the world and that is No. 1.”
It was the highest of praise from the highest of tennis powers, and Keys looked great for the rest of season. She reached her second Premier 5 final in Cincinnati. She reached her first WTA Premier Mandatory final in Beijing. And she made it to the second week at each of the four Grand Slams. Keys—who in 2015 advanced to the semifinals at the Australian Open and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon—has a massive and aggressive game that is effective on all surfaces. It appeared that this season would be the time when it all coalesced into a significant championship.
It may yet—and with Williams out of the picture, it could happen just a week from now. But Keys will likely be pleased with any sort of sustained run at this juncture. She took a first-round loss to Misaki Doi in Madrid, her first tournament since taking an opening-round loss in Charleston to Shelby Rogers. Keys’ best showing this season came in her first tournament back—Indian Wells—when she won two matches before being ground down by Caroline Wozniacki, 6-4, 6-4.
“I was, like, if I get a set, I’ll be happy,” Keys said after one of her second-round victory at Indian Wells, over Naomi Osaka. “It’s always tough to come back and everyone is in the middle of their season.”
The fact that Keys not only won a set, but two matches at Indian Wells after two months off shows that, in an instant, she can return to her typically lethal form. It will be more difficult to showcase on a slower surface like red clay, but dirt hasn’t slowed her down before, as her Rome runner-up hardware attests.
