Madison Keys wrote tennis history by reaching this year's WTA Finals as the American now owns the record for the biggest gap between the first two appearances in the prestigious season-ending tournament.
In 2016, Keys was rewarded with her maiden WTA Finals appearance after enjoying a very consistent year that saw her make three finals and be a semifinalist on a couple of separate occasions. That year, the season-ending tournament was held in Singapore, and the American failed to make it past the group stage after going 1-2 - she defeated Dominika Cibulkova but lost to Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber.
Nine years later, Keys clinched her secondberth for the season-ending tournament.As you probably know, the thing that helped the 30-year-old the most was her Australian Open triumph, for which she collected 2,000 points. Prior to becoming a Grand Slam champion in Melbourne, the American also lifted the title at the WTA 500 event in Adelaide.
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Previously, the player who held the record for the biggest gap between the first two WTA Finals appearances was Amy Frazier, who debuted at the season-ending tournament in 1992 and didn't feature at the event again until 2000.
Keys was the fifth player to book a WTA Finals ticket this year
Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova were the first two players to secure their places in Riyadh. Then, in early October, Keys became the fifth player.
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Going into the season-ending tournament, the reigning Australian Open champion's situation is all but ideal, considering that she hasn't played since the US Open due to a wrist injury. However, there are some positives as well since the 30-year-old American is guaranteed to at least arrive in Riyadh well rested and fresh.
It will be interesting to see how well Keys can do in Riyadh amid her career-best season.
