Madison Keys & Danielle Collins inspire Maria Sakkari to let go of expectations for chance to turn career around

Maria Sakkari recently highlighted the unpredictability of breakthrough moments in tennis. The Greek WTA star cited examples of American stars Madison Keys and Danielle Collins, explaining how they attained peak levels at their age. This came in regard to Jasmine Paolini's remembrance of her 2024 season where she reached two major finals.

Keys and Collins achieved breakthrough success in their late 20s and early 30s. The former won her first Grand Slam at the 2025 Australian Open. She became the oldest first-time champion in the tournament's history at the age of 29. Collins, on the other hand, won her first WTA 1000 title at the 2024 Miami Open at 30. She had planned to retire in 2024 to focus on family due to health issues, but decided to continue playing in 2025 after consulting with specialists.

WTA star Jasmine Paolini recently talked about how she unexpectedly reached two Grand Slam finals in 2024 (French Open & Wimbledon). During a live show hosted by the Tennis Insider Club, Maria Sakkari responded with her appreciation.

"Your story is incredible, I would say. Yeah. It is incredible. It doesn't matter when you do, it just, it matters that you know how you do it and how you do it," she said (9:30).

She also cited Madison Keys and Danielle Collins' examples.

"It's like Madison Keys this year. She admitted that she was putting a lot of pressure on herself to do it. And once she was okay with the idea of not achieving it, then boom, it came. No one wants to achieve it. We are all good with where we are. Like Danielle Collins last year that she said she was gonna stop and then she was like, yeah, she had the best season of her life and then decided to not stop," she added.

Keys recently spoke about the roller coaster of an experience that was her Australian Open triumph.

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Madison Keys talks about her life after first major win

Madison Keys at the Miami Open Presented by Itau 2025 - Day 1 - Source: Getty

WTA star Madison Keys recently talked about the emotional swing she experienced after winning her first major title at the Australian Open. The 30-year-old mentioned how she kept lying on her couch for three days after heading home and was haunted by the thoughts of lacking future plans for her career in the sport.

"It was really emotionally draining! I mean, you were just experiencing the highest of highs and then you come home and it just kind of ends. I was basically comatose just trying to recover. It was an amazing achievement, I was so happy, but the emotional roller coaster afterwards was a little bit surprising," she told ESPN.

The American took a break from competition and made her comeback at the Indian Wells Masters. She made it to the semifinals but lost to Aryna Sabalenka, winning just one game throughout the match. She is now gearing up to start her campaign at the Charleston Open with a showdown against compatriot Caroline Dolehide.