WTA Star Reveals the Mental Masterstroke That Stunned Compatriot Madison Keys in Rome

Sheer resilience was on display in the all-American clash in the R16 of the 2025 Italian Open. The 23-year-old tennis star, Peyton Stearn,s came back from the jaws of defeat to take down the 2025 AO champion, Madison Keys, in a three-set thriller. This was Stearns’ second Top 10 of the season (the previous one was against Qinwen Zheng in the 32 of the Dubai Tennis Championships). Seeing this incredible fight reminds us of a similar display of resilience in the 2025 AO final, where Keys defeated the number one, Aryna Sabalenka by 6-3,2-6,7-5. Following that incredible title triumph, Keys spoke about the secret to success by revealing, “I just kept saying, ‘Be brave.’ And, ‘Go for it.’ I kind of just kept repeating that.” She mentioned how she desperately went for every single point in that match. Stearns was also spotted showcasing a similar separation against one of the biggest hitters in the world in this match. What was her secret to success against the number 6, though?

With this win, Peyton Stearns has not only secured her first R16 appearance in Rome, but she now has a 2-0 record over Madison Keys! Stearns made this a real physical battle and managed Keys’ power play brilliantly. Although their previous meeting in Toronto (2024) ended abruptly due to Keys’ leg injury, this time she managed to beat her by 2-6,6-2,7-6(3).

Stearns led twice by a break in the third set, only for her compatriot to peg her back both times and force a tiebreak. However, the youngster came up with a spectacular drop-shot-pass combination to gain a decisive 5-3 lead.

Talking about taking down the AO champion and what she thinks about that key factor that gave her an edge in this heavy-weight clash during an interview with Tennis Channel, Peyton Stearns said, “Yeah, I mean it was a really tight in that tiebreaker. Three all and I just remember thinking like just dig deep for four points, you know…find a way out just really tough it out, make it physical and you know I felt like I did a really good job of that.“

PEYTON STEARNS USA – Grand Prix Son Altesse Royale La Princesse Lalla Meryem – Rabat – Womens Tennis, WTA250, 22.5.2023, Rabat Union Sportive des Cheminots du Maroc – USCM, Morocco, *** PEYTON STEARNS USA Grand Prix Son Altesse Royale La Princesse Lalla Meryem Rabat Womens Tennis, WTA250, 22 5 2023, Rabat Union Sportive des Cheminots du Maroc USCM , Morocco, Copyright: xMathiasxSchulzx

Peyton Stearns’ rapid rise has been the talk of the town in the tennis world for quite some time. She loves taking down ‘big fish’. In 2023, during an interview, she was asked to share her thoughts on her incredible ability to take down top players. In reply to that question, she had then said, “It’s just a few small things here and there that they are better at. Some of that is mental, and you get that with experience. But these top players have an aura around them… they are very good and that’s why.”

Interestingly, Stearns will now be up against yet another big name in the tennis world. Who’s she?

Peyton Stearns takes on the former world number one, Naomi Osaka, in the R16 of the 2025 Italian Open

It has been a mix of ups and downs for the four-time Grand Slam champion this season. Although Naomi Osaka reached the final of the ASB Classic earlier this season, she struggled to deliver in the rest of her tournaments before the WTA 125K Saint-Malo, FR. After clinching the title in Saint-Malo, Osaka has now also secured her eighth consecutive match win on clay. She recently secured her third win at the Italian Open by defeating the Czech, Marie Bouzkova, by 4-6,6-3,6-3. Next up for Osaka will be the number 42, Peyton Stearns. This will be their first meeting on the Tour! Who will have the last laugh in their first encounter? Time will tell!

However, amidst all these, Stearns split with her coach, Tom Hill, last month. With Hill, she had won the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem in Rabat last year. While announcing this, Hill put up an IG post saying, “After a great 12 months together, I’ve made the decision to end my coaching partnership with Peyton. I’m incredibly proud of everything we achieved together: her first WTA title, career-high rankings in both singles and doubles, and her first top 10 win…“

Then shortly after that, Peyton Stearns put up a post on social media asking for coaches to DM her, as she was in desperate need of a coach. Speaking about her decision to put up that post on social media, the American said, “I wasn’t going to take to social media but due to some factors (winked). I took to social media. I thought it was appropriate. I was going to keep things private but other people didn’t keep it private, so I decided to go to social media. I kind of had fun with it and even got some DMs from some random people that were quite funny. I got a kick out of it.” Recently, she hired another renowned coach, Blaz Kavcic, to her team. How has her experience been with this new coach?

“Madrid was the trial run and I think even before my first round started, I was like, ‘I think you’re hired. I like you!’ We meshed really well together because going into the first round, I was like, ‘Win or lose, I can already see in these couple of days what kind of person he is.’ He’s willing to really, really work, and I like to work a lot too, so it works out well,” said Stearns. According to her, Kavcic has brought in a spark along with the team and has really helped fine-tune some of the key aspects of her game. Do you think the new coach is the real reason behind her recent success at the Italian Open?

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