From an early stage in her professional career, it was clear Madison Keys had the game to become a major singles champion. 

She possessed the on-court weapons: a powerful serve and punishing groundstrokes.

Her athleticism too, has always been among her strengths.

Keys appeared on the verge of winning her first major when she reached the 2017 US Open final as a 22-year-old.

She lost 6-3, 6-0 to fellow American Sloane Stephens, however, before falling in the semifinals at the Australian, French and US Opens (twice) across the next six years.

For some time, Keys was plagued by the sense her destiny as a major winner would remain unfulfilled.

It was an emotional hurdle Keys finally cleared after she realised it was “OK if it didn’t happen”.

This clarity of thought proved to be a successful formula, as it actually did “happen” on Saturday night.

In a pulsating Australian Open final, 19th-seeded Keys defeated Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 to deny the world number one a third straight title at Melbourne Park.

“I felt like from a pretty young age … if I never won a grand slam [tournament], then I wouldn’t have lived up to what people thought I should have been,” Keys told her post-final media conference.

“That was a pretty heavy burden to kind of carry around.

“So, I finally got to the point where I was proud of myself and proud of my career, with or without a grand slam.”

How did Keys arrive at this position? As she describes, through “lots of therapy”.

“To really start kind of digging in on how I felt about myself and really being honest with myself about it, it was really hard,” the 29-year-old said.

“I didn’t really want to be the person that felt like I was really struggling, but I was starting to really struggle with it.

“So [it was about] being really honest and actually getting help and actually talking to someone, and not just about tennis but about how I felt about myself.

“Again, very uncomfortable. I never really like to be uncomfortable. 

“I honestly think that had I not done that, then I wouldn’t be sitting here.”

Keys overcomes ‘internal panic’

Focusing on personal growth and just wanting to “feel better” through therapy helped Keys deal with the pressure she had put on herself.

“In the past, if I ever had nerves come up or something, I typically would not play as well,” she said.

“So it started getting to the point where when nerves came up, I was thinking, ‘Oh, no, now I’m going to play badly’.

“It would almost kind of start this internal panic.

“For whatever reason, it was kind of just like this light bulb moment where I started really buying into I can be nervous and I can still play good tennis.”

Keys will rise from number 14 to seven on the WTA rankings courtesy of her Australian Open win.

She insists therapy will remain a constant during the remainder of her career and after she decides to hang up the racquet.

“You’re going to have moments where things are tough and you need someone to talk to,” Keys said.

“I think it’s very important. It’s something I will continue to do for the rest of my life.”