Madison Keys promised there would be tears in her speech after winning the Australian Open for her first grand slam title.
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She just didn’t know they’d be coming from her husband.
The reaction of Bjorn Fratangelo, a former tennis player who has now coached her to slam glory, melted hearts after the popular American upset Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s singles final.
It was Fratangelo who pushed Keys to make major changes ahead of the 2025 season, getting her to change her racquet, strings and service motion – both to protect her injury-prone body, and improve her game.
After the change, she is still unbeaten this year, winning titles in both Adelaide and Melbourne.
Keys told Nine: “I have the most supportive, best husband in the entire world, who did not even want to coach me and I was like, please! Come with me!”
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But it was also about the emotion of Keys finally winning a slam, as the third-oldest woman to win her first in the Open Era, with her 30th birthday in a few weeks’ time.
She had made one previous slam final but was belted in the 2017 US Open decider, and never knew if she would get the chance to make amends, also for the 2023 US Open semis where she won the opening set over Sabalenka but lost the match in a third-set tiebreak.
“OK, bear with me, I’m absolutely going to cry. There’s no way I get through this without tears, so sorry in advance,” Keys warned at the beginning of her speech.
“Firstly, Aryna, unbelievable playing. I’m glad I finally got you back.
“But unbelievable tennis. You are always so tough to play, and we have the craziest matches.
“Congratulations to you and your team for another amazing Grand Slam run.
“Thank you to everyone who came out and she had the last two weeks. I always feel so at home here. I made my very first Grand Slam semi-final here in Melbourne. So to have won my first Grand Slam in the same place means the absolute world to me.”
But when Keys got to her coaches, she declared: “This is where I’m gonna cry.
“I have wanted this for so long, and I have been in one other Grand Slam final and it did not go my way and I didn’t know if I was ever going to get back to this position to try to win a trophy again.
“And my team believed in me every step of the way. So thank you so much.
“They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself, and helped me every step of the way. Last year was so tough, with some really bad injuries, I didn’t know if I was gonna be able to do it again. And to be here and have this trophy, and my husband, who is looking confused over there… I love you too. I love you all so much.”
That was the moment that left her husband tearing up.
She concluded: “I want to say thank you so much, so appreciative to every single person who helped me continue to believe in myself, push on to achieve this dream. Thank you so much and I cannot wait to see you all next year.”
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