Much was made of Madison Keys’ Australian Open 2025 triumph being the culmination of several changes she made in her career approach.
Within the past 18 months, the American has introduced new team members, changed racquets, tweaked her service motion and shifted her mindset.
In late January, all those factors came together as she stormed to her first Grand Slam singles title.
Yet one under-discussed element in her AO 2025 campaign was the fact she was, simply, striking a bigger ball than she was several years ago.
Tennis Australia’s data analytics team has found that compared to Keys’ last deep run at the AO, when she reached the 2022 semifinals, she has since added significant pace to both her serve and forehand.
MADISON KEYS AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Perhaps it had something to do with the retooled serve; Keys arrived at Melbourne Park using a pinpoint stance in place of her typical platform stance, a change first adopted in the Asian swing of late 2024.
Or perhaps it was the switch to a Yonex racquet, a change she made in the weeks between the 2024 and 2025 seasons. “I definitely think that I have a level of trust in things a little bit more with this racquet,” Keys explained. “I feel like I'm able to kind of go for things a little bit more, but have the ability to be able to control them a little bit more.”
STATS: The numbers behind Madison's magical AO 2025
As well as boosting her serve and forehand speeds, Keys also struck significantly more forehand winners compared to her AO 2022 semifinal run.
That year, in her six matches at Melbourne Park – the last a semifinal loss to eventual champion Ash Barty – she totalled 61 forehand winners.
Across her first six matches at AO 2025, that figure spiked to 103.
Another change was her willingness to approach the net, which she did in just 2.6 per cent of rallies during AO 2022. Three years later, she was doing so in 5.5 per cent of rallies.
It’s not unusual to see players develop their games over the years, yet in Keys’ case this was happening just shy of her 30th birthday – a career juncture perhaps more often associated with decline than improvement.
While Keys faced some impressive players throughout AO 2022, she produced these improved figures against even tougher opposition in 2025. En route to the title she beat four top-10 seeds, three major champions, and the world’s top two, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, back-to-back in the semifinals and final.
Despite the intensity those opponents brought to the court, and the fact Keys needed three sets to win five of her seven AO matches, her body did not break down as it had increasingly been doing.
A latissimus dorsi tear forced Keys to skip AO 2024 while later in the season a hamstring injury halted her when she was leading Jasmine Paolini in the Wimbledon fourth round.
Her coach and husband Bjorn Fratangelo told Andy Roddick’s Served podcast that Keys’ new physiotherapist Kayla Epperson – who came on board this time last year – had helped in “cleaning up all the niggles”.
Fratangelo believed that prior this, Keys could never have played three summer tournaments – Auckland, Adelaide and AO – and built a 14-1 record without a physical issue.
In the final, Keys’ forehand was averaging an even higher speed – 133 km/h – in the decisive set, and helped her earn a 12th consecutive match win.
RELATED: How Keys stunned Sabalenka for her first Grand Slam title
“If she can play consistently like that, I mean, it's not much you can do,” said Sabalenka after losing the final 6-3 2-6 7-5.
“I mean, of course, I know how to play against her, but in this match I couldn't really do my stuff. She just play incredible.”