Madison Keys’ Charleston story

There is tennis love. And there is true love.

 

Madison Keys has experienced the bliss of both in Charleston.

 

Keys was a participant in the Credit One Charleston Open’s media day on March 31, where she talked about her success on the clay courts of Daniel Island and her recent victory at the Australian Open in January.

 

And she spoke about the love and celebration of life she experienced two months earlier here in the Lowcountry. She married her Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, beau, Bjorn Fratangelo, a former player on the men’s ATP Tour who just happened to be her coach.

 

The Nov. 23 wedding, held at a Kiawah River wedding venue, included tennis pals Jessica Pegula, Taylor Townsend, Jennifer Brady, and others in attendance.

 

“11.23.24. Best weekend of my life. I love you @bjornfrat,” Keys posted on Instagram.

 

Back in Charleston, for the first time since the big day, she expounded on the loves of her life.

 

“It’s always been one of my favorite places to come to,” said Keys, who entered the COCO as World No. 5 on the WTA rankings ladder. “I mean, I love the food, I love the city. I love all the history. I’m from the Midwest, and Bjorn is from Pittsburgh, and in November, neither of those places are great places to be. We really just wanted a place that our friends and family could also come and enjoy because it was going to be near the holidays and all of that, and a lot of our friends and family haven’t been here. It just kind of felt like it was the perfect kind of meeting point for all of us.”

 

Like a typical newlywed, she uses busy to describe her professional and personal life.

 

“It’s been busy, but it’s been good,” said Keys, who turned 30 in February. “It’s not all that different. We were kind of laughing that we left the home, that we lived together, got married, and then we came back home, and it was kind of like, ‘Oh, we have to go to practice on Monday.’

 

“So, we haven’t had time to actually have a honeymoon or anything. But it’s been nice. It’s been really great. And, I obviously really enjoy having Bjorn, you know, every single week and actually getting to see each other.”

 

Keys reached her first final on Daniel Island 10 years ago and won her first COCO title in 2019.

 

“I think this was one of my first; this was one of my first biggest tournaments that I ever got to play,” Keys said. “I think I was 16, my first time that I played here, and it’s kind of all blurred together at this point. But I just always really love coming here and the crowd support, the fans, and everything.

 

“It’s just, you know, one of my favorites,” she continued. “So, safe to say, getting married here, playing tennis here … yeah, I definitely would like to say that it’s a second home.”

 

Winning the first Grand Slam of her remarkable career just a few weeks ago also ranks high on the list of her memorable moments.

 

“It’s something that I’ve always, obviously, dreamed of,” Keys said. “And it was always my massive goal, so to have finally been able to achieve that… I think that there’s definitely, there’s kind of a monkey off of my back. But then in the same breath, it’s like, ‘I think I can do that again, or at least put myself in the position to do that again.’”