Advantage Keys: Spreading the Kindness Message

Lindsay Davenport, a three-time Grand Slam champion, coached Madison from 2015 to 2018, a period which saw the Illinois native reach her sole major final at the 2017 US Open. In a recent phone press conference call as one of Tennis Channel’s leading commentators ahead of the 2022 BNP Paribas Open, Davenport recalled the 2015 Indian Wells tournament where she first encountered the cyber abuse players faced after Keys lost a tight three-set match to Jelena Jankovic.

“After the match, she was just showing me her phone and all these hate messages that she was getting on social media,” Lindsay says. “I could not believe it. Just for losing a tennis match, people were talking about her game and about her failing – and even discussing her physical appearance. It was shocking to me, as someone who played in an era when we didn’t have to deal with that. “It affected her so much, and finally she just decided to do something about it,” Davenport adds. “She’s kind of been on a mission ever since. She puts a lot of effort into her foundation. It’s tough to do that while you’re playing. But I think it really brings her a lot of joy and peace to know she’s really trying to make a big difference.”

At the Miami Open, Madison presented Tournament Director James Blake with the Medal of Kindness for his support of cancer research since 2008, his outspoken encouragement for equality and commitment to tennis. “It’s really about acknowledging the great work people are doing when they’re asking for nothing in return,” says Madison, of the concept behind the Medals of Kindness. Last year, with the tour back in semi-action, albeit within Covid bubble conditions, Madison presided over a private Medal of Kindness award ceremony to honour Credit One Charleston Open tournament director Bob Moran and tournament manager Eleanor Adams. “They might just think they’re running their tournament to the standard they want to run it at, but for the players it means so much more because it’s such a welcoming place and somewhere we want to go back to. You feel really comfortable there,” says Madison, of the Charleston-based women’s clay court event. Eleanor acknowledged that receiving the award from Madison was a welcomed surprise. “It was a total shock and it was quite moving and I was so honoured,” she says. “When Madison first started Kindness Wins she asked us for her support and asked if we’d put on events at the tennis centre but of course, Covid sidelined our plans.

“It’s hard for her to keep that momentum, and for those of us (watching), we’ve kind of always wondered why that is,” Lindsay says. “Consistency has always been a factor. I wish I knew what the answer was, to try and get her to play at that (high) level more often.” Nevertheless, the way Madison regarded her recent run to the Australian Open semi finals is proof that she’s trying to take the ‘kindness to self’ message to heart. “I think, obviously, once you get in that position of being in a semi final and you don’t win, you’re disappointed,” Madison says. “But at the same time I’m really trying to focus on taking more of the positives each week. I think sometimes I focus a bit too much on what went wrong or what I didn’t quite do well enough.” Like many of her fellow players, Madison also had to learn about patience when the pandemic forced them into adapting to a version of real life where you stay in one place for an extended period of time.

Another activity that Madison has found a passion for recently is interior design. “The last couple of years, I’ve been trying to figure out if this is something I would want to pursue when I am done with tennis,” she says. “I managed to build my house from the ground up and that really sparked it for me. And then I decorated it, added my furniture and chose accent walls, and decided where to put my possessions. “I am notoriously known for moving furniture around whenever I get bored,” she adds. “My house never really looks the same. Basically, any time you come, a different couch will be in a different spot with different rugs.”

For now, however, Madison’s attention is primarily on playing tennis with the tour back to a normal tournament schedule. And, of course, she remains completely faithful to delivering her favourite missive that Kindness Wins, always.