Madison Keys’ successful end to the season has come to a surprising climax after the confirmation of her split from coach Thomas Hogstedt.
The 21-year-old started working with the Swedish coach in April after she ended her high profile partnership with former world No.1 Lindsay Davenport and her husband. During their time together, Keys reached a ranking best of seventh in October. This season the American achieved a win-loss of 47-17 and clinched her second WTA title in Birmingham, Great Britain. In the premier tournaments, the world No.8 reached the finals in Montreal and Rome. At the end of the season, Keys became the youngest player to qualify for the WTA Finals in Singapore.
There is currently no official explanation regarding Keys’ decision to end her partnership with Hogstedt, who had previously worked with Eugenie Bouchard and Li Na. Canadian website Open Court contacted a source close to Keys’ team, who believes the split was due to a personality clash between the two.
“Madison thinks he is an amazing tennis mind, helped her game a lot, but too big of a personality conflict off the court,” the unnamed source told opencourt.ca.
A replacement for Hogstedt has already been confirmed within the Keys’ camp with an official announcement expected soon.
Whilst the current structure of Keys’ coaching team is unknown to the public, the 21-year-old has been keeping herself busy away from the court. Earlier this week she hosted a seminar at Rock Island High School in Rock Island, Illinois, as part of the FearlessGIRL program. This year Keys became an ambassador for the organisation, which promotes empowerment in schools and communities for girls around the world.
“To be able to launch my partnership with FearlesslyGIRL in my hometown and to meet so many amazing young women was an unforgettable experience.” Keys told wtatennis.com.
“I am so honoured to be called a role model for young women and I take this role seriously as my goal is to help others through my own experiences and spread positivity.”
Keys is planning to conduct her work for the organisation beyond her home country with plans to go to Canada and England to host similar seminar’s in the future. Whether her new coach will accompany her in the future to those events remains to be seen.
