Madison Keys has revealed she had to beg her husband to coach her during the depths of despair last year – and now his act of self-sacrifice has helped propel her to the biggest win of her career.
The newly crowned Australian Open champion delivered a touching tribute to her close-knit team after claiming an elusive first grand slam crown with a nerve-shredding 6-3 2-6 7-5 victory over world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka at Melbourne Park on Saturday night.
But Keys saved her most special praise for her life partner Bjorn Fratangelo, crediting the 31-year-old, one-time top-100 men’s pro for reviving her career.
A former junior prodigy who arrived on the pro scene at 14, Keys feared her best opportunities of capturing a slam may have been behind her following a heartbreaking US Open semi-final loss to Sabalenka in 2023.
The American won the opening set 6-0 in that one but lost in a third-set tiebreaker after serving for the match.
Last year was a depressing one too, with Keys sitting out the Australian Open with injury before being forced to quit with a hamstring strain while leading eventual runner-up Jasmine Paolini 5-2 in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Madison Keys poses with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup on Sunday after her roller-coaster three-set win over Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open
Keys’ husband Bjorn Fratangelo (pictured together) played a major role in the stunning career turnaround that led to her first grand slam victory
The 2017 US Open runner-up also missed the Paris Olympics and crashed out in the third round back in New York.
That’s why Keys figured something had to change.
So, approaching 30 next month, Keys changed coaches and her entire approach to the game.
‘I have the absolute greatest team,’ she said while cradling the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.
‘They have really believed in me in the moments that I did not believe in myself, and they basically helped me completely rebuild after some pretty bad injuries last year.
‘And 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”.
‘It took some arm-twisting and he has been the most supportive and he has fully believed in me every step of the way.
‘If it was not for those three people who have been cheering me on all week, in all of the three-set matches, I would not be here.’
Fratangelo (pictured with Keys at their wedding last November) gave up his own playing career in a heartwarming sacrifice that has now paid off in the best way possible
Fratangelo quit his playing career to dedicate himself to his wife’s search for grand slam glory in the sort of romantic gesture you could make a movie about.
The couple first met while training together in Florida and their romance blossomed in 2017.
They became engaged six years later and married just last November, in a ceremony Keys described as the best weekend of her life – and that includes the Open win.
The racket change from Wilson to Yonex that has been credited with playing a major role in her surge to the slam title was Fratangelo’s idea as he urged her to push herself into uncomfortable territory – with amazing results.
In an incredible run to the title, Keys – still unbeaten in 2025 after opening the year with victory at the Adelaide International – also took out world No.10 and 2022 Open runner-up Danielle Collins, 28th seed Elina Svitolina and the second-ranked Iga Swiatek after saving a match point in the semi-finals.
Her biggest scalp, though, was undoubtedly the top-seeded Sabalenka, who had been gunning to become the first woman this century to snare a hat-trick of titles at Melbourne Park.
To stop the Belarusian powerhouse, Keys knew she had to break the shackles and go for broke, come what may.
‘My only goal was to make sure I played how I wanted to play and not have any regrets,’ said the world No.14, who will return to a career-high seventh in the new rankings on Monday.
The tennis power couple both broke down in tears after Keys became the queen of Melbourne Park on Saturday night
‘Because the last time I played Sabalenka at the US Open, I walked off the court and had a lot of regret because, any big moments, I felt like I backed off.
‘She played the way she wanted to last time and I was going to absolutely be OK if I played how I wanted to, and she beat me.
‘So, if that is how it happened, no problem.
‘But that was my only goal and I feel like I did that and I kept telling myself, ‘Just try to get to the next point’.
‘It was really just, “Try to walk off the court no matter what and be proud of yourself”.
‘I kept saying to myself, “Just be brave, go after your shots”. You know she’s going to go after them so I didn’t want to get behind in points.
‘And once I was to hold and go up 6-5 [in the deciding set], I said to myself, ‘No matter what, there is a match tiebreak, you are still in this, just go for it’, and I fully trusted myself.’
