Keyes Madison is a US professional tennis player. Her full name is Rhonda Jean Rosie. She has won four top-tier WTA events. In October 2016, Kees was ranked 7th among the best tennis players in the world.
Biography
The girl was born on February 17, 1995. She has an older sister named Sydney and two younger sisters, Montana and Hunter. Christina's mother worked as a lawyer, and her husband Rick was a basketball player. The family lived in northwestern Illinois, in the small town of Rock Island.
Keyes started playing tennis at the Quad-City Club in Moline. When she was ten years old, she moved to Florida with her mother and younger sisters. There she got the opportunity to train at the Evert Tennis Academy, founded by the famous tennis player John Evert.
In 2007, Madison announced herself as a promising tennis player. She has had a series of brilliant victories in Junior Orange Bowl, ITF Junior and ITF Pro Circuit. In January 2009, Keyes became the first US citizen to win the first level Copa del Cafe tournament in Costa Rica. An earthquake struck the country that day.
Professional sports career
Madison moved to professional sports in February 2009. She made her debut in the WTA tour at the Ponte Vedra Beach Championship, where she defeated Alla Kudryavtseva. Keyes became the seventh youngest player ever to win a match at a WTA level, at the age of 14 years and 48 days.
The next opportunity to compete in the WTA came in March 2011. Keyes lost to Patty Schneider in the first round. In her Grand Slam debut, she defeated compatriot Jill Craibus to become the youngest match winner in 6 years at the age of 16.
At the 2013 Sydney International Championships, Keyes reached the quarterfinals of the WTA for the first time, beating Lucy Shafarzhova and Zheng Jie. In the same year at the Australian Open in tennis, she defeated Casey Dellacqua and Tamira Pashek, and in the third round she defeated Angelica Kerber. Thanks to this, she entered the top 100 of the WTA rankings at number 81 a month before she turned 18.
In 2014, the tennis player won her first WTA title in the Eastbourne International premier competition. She defeated two of the best players: Elena Jankovic in the first round and Angelica Kerber in the final. Madison entered the international tournament in Strasbourg, winning matches one after another. In the offseason, she began working with coaches Lindsay Davenport and John Leach. With a new coaching team, the athlete made a breakthrough into the top echelon of women's tennis at the 2015 Australian Championships. At the 2015 US Open, the girl injured her left wrist, but decided to postpone the operation until next year.
The tennis player received her second career title at the Birmingham Classic premier tournament. 21-year-old Keyes entered the top ten for the first time in her career. She became the first American woman to make the top 10 since Serena Williams in 1999. Due to the planned surgery, Keyes left the tennis court until March 2016. After competing in France in 2017, the athlete had to return to the hospital for a second surgery.
In 2018, Madison took part in the US Open. She defeated Caroline Garcia and advanced to the Australian Championship quarterfinals for the second time. She lost this round to Angelica Kerber, one of her toughest opponents. Keyes finished the season early with a left thigh injury she suffered against Victoria Azarenka at the championship in Miami.
The 2019 season began with three losses. Keyes returned to her former coach Juan Todero after which she won her first WTA title at a competition in Charleston. She defeated Sloane Stevens and Caroline Wozniacki. This was followed by victories over Simona Halep, Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova. The tennis player made it to the top 10 for the first time since June 2018.
Achievements in 2020
Keyes kicked off a strong season in 2020 by reaching the final at the pre-helmet Brisbane International. She defeated former Grand Slam champions Samantha Stosur, Petra Kvitova, but lost to Karolina Plishkova. In the Australian tournament, Keyes defeated Daria Kasatkina and Arantha Rus in the first two matches, but lost to the Greek athlete Maria Sakkari in the third round.
At the moment, Keyes Madison is ranked 20th in the WTA rankings, and her earnings are $ 906,978 per year. She has 259 wins and 141 losses.
Keyes is an ambassador for the anti-bullying organization Fearlessly Girl. She has made a significant contribution to its promotion. The girl hosted the group's first summit with founder Kate Whitfield in her hometown of Rock Island in 2016. In February 2020, Kees opened a non-profit organization called Kindness Wins. She describes it as "a platform for kindness, with a particular emphasis on kindness towards youth."
Personal life
At the end of 2017, the girl began dating 26-year-old American tennis player Bjorn Fratangelo.
The young man won the title at the French Open in 2011. He became the second American to win this tournament after John McEnroe in 1977. Fratangelo became a singles semifinalist at the 2017 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.
Keyes currently resides with his family in Bettendorf, Iowa.
