American 19th seed Madison Keys stunned two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open final to lift her maiden Grand Slam at Melbourne Park on Saturday, January 25. Keys defeated World No.1 Sabalenka in a closely-fought finale in three sets 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.
Sabalenka was the favourite coming into the final as she was looking for a rare 'three-peat'. The World No.1 tennis star had won the Australian Open title twice in 2023 and then in 2024 and was in line to become the first woman since 1997-99 to win the title three times in a row. The feat was last achieved by Martina Hingis.
Keys has had a pretty impressive campaign. She defeated four top 10 seeds in her campaign at Melbourne Park with Sabalenka being the fourth one. The 29-year-old American had defeated World No.2 Iga Swiatek in the semifinal after having overcome sixth seed Elena Rybakina in the round of 16 and 10th seed Danielle Collins in the third round.
Keys broke Sabalenka's serve four times in the game, while the World No.1 could break Keys three times. The American began with a break in the first set and backed that up with a hold to her serve to take a 2-0 lead. She then broke Sabalenka again to go 4-1 up before holding her serve to stay 5-1. However, the Belarusian found a break to stay in touch at 3-5, before Keys took the opening set 6-3.
Sabalenka took a little time-out after the opening set and found her mojo in the second set. The World No.1 broke the 19th seed's serve twice in the second set and took it 6-2 to force a decider. However, she kept her nerves in the third set. The game was on a knife's edge in the third set as both the players kept holding their serves. The game was at 6-5 with Sabalenka serving to stay in the match and the tournament, however, Keys broke the champion for the final time to take the women's crown away from her.