A PRODIGY, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is "a highly gifted child or youth; someone whose talents excite wonder and admiration."

Tennis is a sport in which prodigies periodically emerge like butterflies from a cocoon. Sometimes as young as 5 or 6, and not much bigger than the rackets they wield, destiny's children swat fuzzy balls around and perform as if they were genetically engineered to win Wimbledon or the U.S. Open.

Once identified as prodigies, the select few often are sent away to tennis-intensive learning academies where academic studies are interspersed with hours of on-court instruction. Such sequestering is essential because, as has been demonstrated by the success arc of other youthful wonders, great talent needs to be nurtured ever so carefully, and from an early age.

By any definition, 14-year-old Madison Keys, the newest and youngest member of the Freedoms, is a prodigy. The fledgling professional is 5-10 and possesses a serve that has been clocked at 114 mph, which already puts her in the upper tier of power players on the women's tour.

Imagine what she might become once she grows into her still-developing body. John Evert has.

"I'm not one of those coaches who will boast about every young protégé that comes along," said Evert, whose renowned sister, Chris Evert, was the winner of 18 women's Grand Slam singles titles and unanimously voted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1995. "If 10 come along and one makes it big, then you look like a genius.

"But I will say that Madison was a very, very good athlete from the time I first saw her [when she was 8]. The thing I liked about her was her mental makeup. Not only was she passionate about playing tennis, but she was having a lot of fun at the same time."

Evert, who has served as Keys' coach at the Evert Tennis Academy, in Boca Raton, Fla., for 5-plus years, might have been reluctant to heap too much praise on the kid before her age had reached double-digits. But now that Keys is playing for pay in selected tournaments, and is the youngest player ever in World TeamTennis - she is 17 days younger than Maria Sharapova was when she made her WTT debut - Evert is willing to venture an opinion as to just how bright a future awaits his prize pupil.

"I identify talent for IMG [the management company that has Keys under contract]," Evert said. "I've seen a lot of these young girls coming up the ranks. I managed Mary Joe Fernandez and Jennifer Capriati. I think Capriati was as good or better than anyone at an early age. She had four wins over top 10 players in her first 3 months on the tour.

"If someone says that this or that girl is going to be the No. 1 player in the world someday, your natural tendency is to be a little skeptical. But nothing surprises me about Madison. For her, the sky's the limit."

How Keys became involved in tennis makes for an interesting story. It wasn't so much the sport that attracted her as the flashy outfits being worn by her favorite player, Venus Williams.

"My parents were watching Wimbledon on television and I walked through their room," said Keys, who was only 4 at the time. "I saw Venus' outfit and I asked my dad if I could have one. He said, 'Only if you start playing tennis.' "

So it was off to the store for the toddler's first racket, the beginning of a love affair with the game that has continued to intensify. Little Madison - well, not so little given her growth spurts - first attended a camp at the Evert Tennis Academy when she was 8, at which point another coach told John Evert to check her out.

A year and a half later, Keys' mother, Christine, packed up Madison and her two younger sisters to relocate from their home in Milan, Ill., outside of Chicago, to Boca Raton. Madison's father, Rick, an attorney as is Christine, visits whenever possible, and is making arrangements for a permanent move that would reunite the entire family.

Keys made her Women's Tennis Association debut in April in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., where she upset - at least it was an upset on paper - Alla Kudryavtseva, then the 81st-ranked player in the world, 7-5, 6-4.

Keys' age precludes her from playing a heavy WTA schedule and, besides, Evert frets that too busy a workload would lead to the sort of injuries that prematurely ended the careers of past prodigies Andrea Jaeger and Tracy Austin. But the WTT offers a reasonable alternative to life on the road before Keys is mentally and physically ready.

"It's going to be a good fit," Evert said of Keys joining the Freedoms. "Lisa Raymond [of Wayne] is going to be a great mentor. Maybe she'll teach Madison a couple of tricks of the trade in doubles. And Venus is going to play for the Freedoms, too."

Being on the same team, at least occasionally, with Venus - whom she has never met or spoken to - is a thrill for Keys, who still likes her role model's distinctive tennis attire. She also might find herself on the other side of the net when Venus' sister, Serena, comes in with the Washington Kastles on July 13 for a match on the outdoor court at the Plaza in King of Prussia.

"I have a chance to play Serena?" Keys asked when advised of the breakdown of the Freedoms' schedule. "I'll have to practice a lot." *