Keys edges Sabalenka in Australian Open final thriller for first Grand Slam title

In 2015, Madison Keys announced herself as a major talent by reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open at age 19. Ten years later, the American became a major champion after beating No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in the Australian Open final to win her first trophy of the Grand Slam.

Sabalenka, a two-time defending champion, had entered the final on a 20-match winning streak at Melbourne Park and with an unbeaten record of 11-0 in 2025 after lifting the Brisbane trophy three weeks ago. She was aiming to become the first woman to win a hat-trick of Australian Open titles since Martina Hingis in 1997-99, and held a 4-1 head-to-head lead over the No. 19 seed, Keys, including a heartbreaker 0. -6, 7-6(1), 7-6(5) in the semifinals of the 2023 US Open.

Keys had also lost his only previous Grand Slam final 6-3, 6-0 to Sloane Stephens at the 2017 US Open. Yet, arriving in 2025 with a brand new Yonex racquet and a modified serving motion, the 29 years delivered a brave performance to overturn the odds. Keys had already become the player with the longest gap between their first two Slam finals of the Open Era, and her victory made her the fourth oldest first-time Slam champion of the Open Era.

Photos: Every Open Era Player Will Win a Major After Facing Match Point

Here are some other key stats behind Keys’ triumph:

• After saving a match point to upset No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek in the semifinals, Keys became the 16th player in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam after facing a match point – and the first since Swiatek herself at Roland Garros last year.
• Keys is the fourth player this decade to beat the world No. 1 and world No. 2 in the same tournament, and the first since Elena Rybakina beat Swiatek and Sabalenka to win Indian Wells 2023. She is the first to do so done at a slam since Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Serena Williams and Dinara Safina to win the 2009 Roland Garros.
• This tournament marked Keys’ 46th Grand Slam main draw appearance. Only two players made more appearances before winning their first title: Flavia Pennetta with 49 and Marion Bartoli with 47.
• Currently ranked No. 14, Keys will return to her career high of No. 7 in the PIF WTA rankings on Monday. She last held this position for three weeks in October 2016.
• Keys extended her winning streak to 12, the longest of her career, after winning the Adelaide title two weeks ago. The final was the first between players who won a preparatory tournament since the Australian Open was moved to its January calendar position in 1987. (In 2015, it was contested between Brisbane champion Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams, who won the 2014 WTA. The Singapore final did not take place in January 1985, it was played in November between Martina Navratilova, who won in Sydney the previous week, and Chris Evert, who had won Tokyo two weeks before.)
• Keys is the first player in the Open Era to win the Australian Open title with three-set victories in her final four rounds. She is the fifth to do so in a major after Sue Barker (Roland Garros 1976), Conchita Martínez (Wimbledon 1994), Maria Sharapova (Roland Garros 2014) and Jelena Ostapenko (Roland Garros 2017).

Lightning start, lightning arrival: Keys said after her semifinal victory that in her previous Grand Slam final, she had been so “consumed with nerves” that she hadn’t been able to give herself a chance to play her game. That match, she said, had been on her “endless” mind for eight years.

As if determined to exorcise that memory, Keys stormed out with a blistering start to her second final. She surged to 5-1 in a burst of precise, lethal winners on both wings in the corners – but it wasn’t just her power that was on song. Keys’ defense was superb all fortnight, and it earned him the crucial double break for 4-1 as well as a remarkable drop shot at full stretch in the next game.

Keys failed to take her first set point at 5-2 and threw her first game of the error-strewn match to lose serve at 5-3. But she overcame this setback to seal her second set point by scoring a backhand winner down the line.

Sabalenka hasn’t lost a Grand Slam match in straight sets since the 2020 US Open (against Victoria Azarenka), and the world No. 1 fought back in her own way. She had been plagued by untimely double faults in the first set – two in the opening game, another to lose break point at 3-1 and another to lose set point. In the second set, she committed only one and increased her first serve percentage from 64% to 83%.

The 26-year-old explained how increasing her power with variety was important to her game, and it also showed in the second set as she repeatedly kept Keys off balance with a succession of shots fell.

The stage was set for an exciting third set, and both players stepped up to deliver their performances. Spectacular shots abounded — a high-angle backhand volley from Keys that had both players laughing, a phenomenal full-stretch backhand from Sabalenka — but neither had a real opportunity to make a breakthrough. In the first 11 games, neither faced a break point.

The title was decided until the very last match. Tennis is full of clichés about improving your game and pushing yourself in the big moments, but Keys summed them up here. She made two breathtaking comebacks to build a 0-30 lead. She reached the championship point after winning a high-octane base swap. And she converted her second by launching into a full-force forehand with all her might – her 29th and most important winner of the night.