Madison Keys, the American tennis star, defeated Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka to secure her first Grand Slam title at the 2025 Australian Open on Saturday morning.
The match, held at the iconic Rod Laver Arena, saw the world number 19 seed overcome the defending champion in a thrilling encounter that lasted two hours.
Despite entering as the underdog against Sabalenka, who was chasing a 21st consecutive Melbourne win and her third Australian Open title, Keys displayed exceptional composure and strategy. She claimed the tightly contested match in three sets, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.
The 29-year-old’s triumph is historic, as she became the first player to deny the world’s top two-ranked women at a Grand Slam since Svetlana Kuznetsova at Roland Garros in 2000.
She is also the first to achieve this feat at the Australian Open since Serena Williams in 2005.
With this victory, Keys joins an elite group of American women to win the Australian Open title. She follows in the footsteps of Lindsay Davenport (2000), Jennifer Capriati (2001, 2002), Serena Williams (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017), and Sofia Kenin (2020).
