Keys, who had a wrist injury on and off during 2017, still managed to reach the final at the US Open, but stopped competing after playing the WTA event in Wuhan.
“The biggest thing for me, the biggest thing for my team and why we decided to end my season a little bit early, was just to have enough time to dedicate completely to rehabbing my wrist, not hitting tennis balls and not feeling rushed coming back into the new season,” the No. 20 Keys said. “So I spent a lot of my time the first couple of weeks just doing forehands and wrist rehab, getting that strong, and feeling like I was fully confident in my left wrist again.”
Keys says she is now physically and mentally recharged.
“I finished the US Open and I was exhausted. So as amazing as that run was, the combination of being exhausted from that and having a wrist that still wasn't 100% perfect, I just needed to shut it down, calm down,” Keys said. “I definitely feel way more comfortable than a couple of years ago in this position, but it also still feels like new and exciting.”
Read Joel Drucker and Nina Pantic on TENNIS.com as they report from the Australian Open, and watch them each day on The Daily Mix:
