Tennis can be cutthroat, but Taylor Townsend and Madison Keys show us it’s not all about competition. They’re best friends through and through. From cheering each other on to Townsend getting hyped for Keys’ wedding, their bond is unbreakable. That kind of support is everything!
The doubles champion and World No. 3 in doubles, Townsend, is on a quest. After winning the Australian Open doubles title, she was unsuccessful in the following tournaments. Facing early exits in the Singapore Open and then in singles at the Abu Dhabi and Qatar Open. But she’s not letting that get her down! Right now, she’s in Dubai for the Middle East swing, gearing up for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship with her partner Katerina Siniakova. They’ll be facing off against Peyton Stearns and Lulu Sun. But before that, Townsend has a special celebration: her BFF Madison Keys is turning 30!
In a hilarious video from the Aviation Club Tennis Centre, Keys playfully tells Townsend to “just breathe” as they share a laugh. Townsend captioned the moment, “Madi was telling me how I was stressing her out and I needed to chill df out she’s wise beyond her years Happiest birthday to my bookie @madisonkeys .” Fresh off their Grand Slam win, they know how to keep it chill while gearing up for the season.
Aug 5, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Taylor Townsend (USA) returns a ball to Erika Andreeva (not pictured) during qualifying round play at Sobeys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Their friendship runs deep. Townsend shared that she spent countless weekends at Keys’ house while training at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. “I was spending every weekend at Madison’s house. I was spending the night at her house multiple times,” she said, joking, “She introduced me to country music and took me through a country phase.”
After winning the women’s doubles final against Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko, Townsend expressed, “I can’t even put into words how happy I am for her.” Celebrating their victories as “women of color” in tennis, she added, “Getting over the hump is getting over the hump no matter what.” But why was Keys asking her to calm down though? It could be because of Taylor’s anxieties owing to the hectic schedule which could be taking a toll on her.
Taylor Townsend opens up about the tough reality of the tennis tour
Fresh from their Melbourne Major triumph last month, Taylor Townsend is set to compete in the doubles category of the Dubai Tennis Championships with Katerina Siniakova, starting their campaign against Lulu Sun and Peyton Stearns on February 19. After her first-round singles exit in Dubai, the two-time Grand Slam doubles champ, Taylor Townsend, got real about the struggles of her crazy schedule. Just hours ago, she posted a hilarious meme on her Instagram story: a guy dancing wildly to ‘Raindrop Droptop!’ Below the meme, Townsend wrote, “Me trying to keep my s*** together after 7 weeks on the road, 5 countries, and 5 time zones .”
She previously shared her hectic experience last August when scheduled to play at both the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open! She opened up about the stress of playing a 5 pm match at the Cincinnati Open right after competing in Toronto and shared some of the financial struggles she faced with that. “I have to play at 5 o’clock tomorrow at Cincinnati. It’s stressful trying to figure out how to get out of Toronto and how to get to Cincinnati. The only flight out of Toronto is like $1400 a person, and a layover, no matter what,” Townsend mentioned.
But Townsend knows she’s not alone! With her BFF Madison Keys there to remind her to take a breath from time to time, perhaps she’ll find her rhythm and clinch her next title!
The post ‘Wise Beyond Her Years’ – Taylor Townsend Makes Madison Keys’ Special Day Unforgettable With a Pep Talk That Fueled Her Australian Open Glory appeared first on EssentiallySports.
