Australian Open champion Madison Keys hopes the stigma around therapy in sport continues to be ground down so that others can achieve the kind of release which carried her to this title. There is much talk of legacy in this sport and that is normally calculated by weight of silverware.
The year-old estimates that the talk of her winning a Grand Slam began when she was 11 or 12 years old. Why haven't I been able to do it?
In the Us Open final against her good friend Sloane Stephens - one of the first to congratulate her on Saturday night - Keys was crippled by nerves. Eight years later against Sabalenka on Rod Laver Arena, she played with utter conviction and not an atom of fear.
Mental health struggles are common in tennis and it is no wonder. It is a brutal, individual sport where athletes travel the world, away from loved ones, for weeks of the year. It's helpful for a lot of us.
If more people do it and more people talk about it, then it just becomes the norm. It's almost as if you're going to the doctor. No one bats an eye at that. Read more. Madison Keys reveals the stigma she wants to be extinguished from sport - after overcoming Grand Slam final demons of old to win Australian Open. Story by Matthew Lambert In Melbourne. Madison Keys reveals stigma she wants to be extinguished from sport. Keys, who was ranked as No19 seed going into the final, defeated world No1 Aryna Sabalenka in a stunning upset victory, denying the Belarusian a third straight Australian Open title.
