The lady in the photograph above is Madison Keys, the Australian Open 2025 champion. What’s special about Keys isn’t just that she is now a Grand Slam winner (that is a remarkable achievement by itself!). But it’s the fact that it’s her 1st Grand Slam trophy after being on the professional tennis circuit for nearly 16 years! Her Australian Open triumph came in her 46th Grand Slam – she actually tried 45 times before finally winning one.

The 29-year-old American has spent more of her life on the professional tour than not, debuting soon after becoming a teenager. She was a star always destined for great things, until the years without a major triumph eroded expectations. For years, Keys suffered under the weight of expectation that one day, some day, she would achieve the Grand Slam success tipped for her since she was an 11-year-old prodigy.

At her post-match interview after winning the Australian Open final, Keys said, “I think as I got older and I had gotten close and it didn’t happen, it kind of felt like, ‘Will this ever actually happen? If it doesn’t happen, I didn’t live up to what everyone told me I should have done.”

Ten years ago, at the age of 19, Keys appeared set to deliver on the hype as she stormed into her first Grand Slam semifinals at Melbourne Park. Unfortunately, it was not to be. When Keys was at her peak, ranked 7 in the world, she made it to the US Open final in 2017 only to capitulate against an unseeded compatriot ranked 83rd in the world, Sloane Stephens. She hasn’t reached those levels since, hanging around on the fringes of the top 10 but never taking that next step.

In fact, Keys’ 2024 season was blighted by injury, and her best effort at the three Grand Slams she played was an underwhelming fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon. On the cusp of turning 30 before the Australian Open final, It was clear to Keys that time was running out – she knew the end was far closer than the start.

Having worked a lot on the mental & physical side of her game, Keys finally overcame top seed Aryna Sabalenka in an incredible three-set battle to become the oldest first-time women’s singles Australian Open champion in history!

Madison Keys’ journey has shown that setbacks do not define a career. Sport, and life, is an increasingly long pursuit and those who are willing to work on themselves can continue to improve after many years of competition and, eventually, find their way. That is the story of Madison Keys’ triumph – once lost, now found – an Australian Open champion.

We now know Madison Keys won a grand slam at her 46th attempt. But does that make the previous 45 attempts “failures” or stepping stones to success?