Defending Australian Open champion Madison Keys had a topsy-turvy 2025 season, where, apart from her title at Melbourne Park, she struggled to maintain consistency in other tournaments on the WTA circuit.
She contended for a spot in the Roland Garros semifinals but ultimately lost to countrywoman Coco Gauff, thereby failing to ride the positive momentum garnered during the Australian swing.
Currently ranked World No. 9 in women’s singles, Keys played the WTA Finals in Riyadh last year but lost both her round robin matches against Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova. During the event, her husband and coach, Bjorn Fratangelo, gave an exclusive interview, during which he made some stark claims about the player’s overall performance in 2025.
“I think doing all that, she had all the practice under her belt to deal with what comes. I just don’t think she was ready for how much it was going to be, and then I guess it just tires you out after a while. All the off-court stuff, all the demands that she had, it just led to a little bit of a lull, I think, through the grass swing,” he added.
“I think being close at Roland-Garros, again, situationally playing that match with Coco, losing that one close,… I think just situational scenarios kind of played into that loss.”
“It could have been two in a row, and that kind of led to a little bit of a lull through the grass season, but I mean, look, it’s a long year, you have to kind of take it in stride,” Fratangelo concluded.
