Madison Keys Reveals $1,000 Tennis Gift to Boost American Dream Amid Wimbledon Buzz

Remember when Madison Keys stole headlines last year, raising a staggering $75,000 for her foundation during the Credit One Charleston Open? “The main goal for me is to get tennis to be as accessible as possible for as many people, especially kids,” she declared, as the funds powered programs like Courting Kids and Reese Brantmeier’s hometown court restoration. Since then, she’s shattered jinxes and claimed Grand Slam glory at the AO, all while her mission of kindness has roared on. Now, with a bold $1000 initiative, Keys is once again showing she’s more than a champion on court; she’s a force shaping the next generation of tennis, building dreams one serve at a time.

Just a couple of days ago, the official IG page of “Kindness Wins Foundation” shared a heartwarming post that once again placed Madison Keys in the spotlight. Tagging the GS champion, the post unveiled an inspiring story as Keys donated $1000 towards a college scholarship program. “Kindness Wins and @madisonkeys are pleased to award a $1000 grant to Serve and Return of Louisiana to help increase the impact of their college scholarship program,” the post read.

The spotlighted organization, ‘Serve and Return’, is a 501c3 nonprofit devoted to uplifting underserved communities in Monroe, West Monroe, and the surrounding areas through the sport of tennis. They provide no-cost tennis lessons, scholarships, charity drives, and host numerous community events. The post continued, “Our grant will go toward the awarding of scholarships to high school seniors that have applied to the organization’s scholarship program ahead of starting a four-year college program. The recipients will be awarded this weekend at their Raise the Racquet Gala, and Kindness Wins has also donated a signed racquet from Madison Keys toward their auction to raise more funds for their community impact.

For more information on Serve and Return of Louisiana, visit servereturnla.org.”

Keys herself responded with simplicity and sincerity, dropping a heart emoji under the post and re-sharing it to her IG stories a couple of hours ago. It was another humble reminder of her commitment to building a better world through tennis. 

To remind you, Kindness Wins, founded in 2020 by Keys, is a nonprofit centered around promoting kindness to youth, kindness to self, and kindness to others in times of struggle. The foundation supports youth access to sports, education, and the pursuit of making a difference, all while championing the belief that ‘#KindnessWins’. Donations are distributed through the Quad Cities Community Foundation in Bettendorf, Iowa, with Madison and her team guiding the grant recommendations.

After her fourth-round win against Svitolina at the AO this year, Keys opened up about what inspired her to start the foundation. “I felt like tennis has just brought so much opportunity to my life, and I felt like I wanted to be able to give that to as many people as possible. Tennis isn’t the most accessible sport, so, I wanted to try to get equipment, new balls, or new courts and just give as many kids the opportunity to play tennis as possible,” she shared. 

Later, she added, “I think it opens a lot of doors, and I think it builds a lot of really great characteristics. I think the more kids playing tennis, the better. So that’s kind of my goal.”

Now, as she sets her sights on SW19 once more, Keys does so with a deeper purpose guiding her journey. Alongside her preparation, she recently expressed heartfelt gratitude for the most valuable figure in her team, the one who has stood firmly behind her rise. 

Madison Keys reveals the unfireable force behind success

At Roland Garros, during a candid chat with the TNT crew, the 6th seed Madison Keys peeled back the curtain on one of the most unshakable pillars of her team: her husband and coach, Bjorn Fratangelo. With a mix of heart and humor, she didn’t hesitate to dub him the “unfirable” one. “He’s definitely unfireable and I think he toes the line sometimes, but um there’s definitely times where he’ll say something and like I just glare at him and he just laughs because he knows,” Keys said.

That honesty, she admits, can be a double-edged sword. “But as I’m sure you all know Bjorn quite well, he doesn’t really hold back. He kind of says what he thinks what he feels, and you kind of know what he’s thinking, kind of at all moments, doesn’t really have much of a filter. So in a lot of ways, that’s great sometimes, when you know you’re down in the third, it’s not really what you want to hear, but sometimes it’s what you need to hear,” she added later, revealing just how much his raw truths have become her competitive edge.

Their love story reads like a tennis fairytale, spanning courts, continents, and commitments. Keys and Fratangelo began dating in 2017, got engaged in March 2023, and tied the knot in a ‘picturesque autumn ceremony’ in South Carolina in November 2024. A former pro himself, Fratangelo stepped away from the tour in 2023 and stepped into a new role as coach, though as Keys once told People Magazine, it was “kind of begrudgingly.” 

Now, with Wimbledon on the horizon, Keys is locked in and looking to rewrite her grass-court legacy. Madison Keys has reached the quarterfinals before, but this time, she might finally break through to victory and reclaim the glory she had in Melbourne.