MELBOURNE, Australia — Madison Keys sat in the Australian Open media room at 12:55 a.m. on Friday, a smile beaming from ear to ear after having just battled from a set down to defeat world No. 2 Iga Swiatek in an otherworldly semifinal. She could have been excused for taking a microsecond to revel in what was, at that point, the biggest win of her tennis career But instead Keys was already fixating on the seemingly impossible task of ending Aryna Sabalenka’s two-year reign Down Under when the two squared off for the trophy in around 40 hours’ time.
The American spoke candidly about the heartbreak of falling to Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open semifinals before transitioning into how she had to approach this match. There were countless references to aggression, confidence, taking the initiative and playing fearless tennis, a precursor to Saturday evening’s final.
It took Keys just two minutes and 45 seconds to demonstrate that ruthless intent, stepping inside the baseline and battering a ball crosscourt to secure a break of serve in the opening game of the match. An hour and 58 minutes later, she ended it with a similar shot, this time from the other side of the court, and this time to win her first Grand Slam title 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.
“I kept telling myself to be brave and go for it. Just lay it all out on the line,” a jubilant Keys told reporters. “I almost felt like I was trying to beat her to it. If I wasn’t going to go for it, I knew she was going to. It pushed me to thread the needle a little bit more.”
That aggressive blueprint laid out by Keys in the lead-up proved to be the formula for success. She knew the best way to take away Sabalenka’s strength was to throw her own punches before the world No. 1 had the chance. She refused to let Sabalenka dictate proceedings and took the initiative by striking telling blows early in points. She crushed ball after ball, smacking them back across the net with the kind of depth and ferocity Sabalenka had seldom had to face over the past 36 months, certainly not at Melbourne Park.
Keys didn’t solely rely on the aggressive baseline slugging. She expertly sprinkled in variety with teasing drop shots and sharp slices, a style of play that doesn’t often make its way into her usual repertoire of powerful ball striking. But it all worked to continue unsettling and frustrating Sabalenka at the other end of the court. In many ways, it was an offensive masterclass.
“She played super aggressive. Very fast, very deep, very aggressive,” conceded a disappointed Sabalenka after tasting defeat at the Australian Open for the first time since 2022. “It seemed like everything was going her way. I was just trying to put the ball back … couldn’t really play my aggressive tennis. I couldn’t really do my stuff.”
Keys wasn’t perfect. She blew a set point up 5-1 in the first, then, in the next game, failed to serve out the set. She was broken early in the second frame and fell into a worrying slump that lasted for several games. But when the match was there to be won deep in a tense, deciding third set, Keys refused to back down on her prematch vow of playing with decisiveness and confidence.
The world No. 14 cooly held serve for a 6-5 lead, before playing a nearly faultless final game. Keys struck a scintillating return winner down the line that left Sabalenka shaking her head in disbelief. She then scrambled her way from one side of the baseline to the other, forcing Sabalenka into an error. And then she struck the final blow, fittingly another winner, before cupping her hands over her mouth in disbelief of having just realized her childhood dream.
“I felt like from a pretty young age that if I never won a Grand Slam then I wouldn’t have lived up to what people thought that I should have been. That was a pretty heavy burden to carry around,” Keys revealed, with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy sitting by her side. “I finally got to the point where I was okay if it didn’t happen. I didn’t need it to feel like I had had a good career or that I deserved to be talked about as a great tennis player.
“I feel like finally letting go of that kind of internal talk just gave me the ability to actually go out and play some really good tennis … to actually win a Grand Slam.”
There was a sense of irony that Keys’ major breakthrough came against the woman she had long admired and from whom she even attempted to model certain aspects of her game. It was poetic that the reason she prevailed was because of learnings she had taken away from watching and playing against Sabalenka for all these years.
“The one thing I really wanted to try be better at was just trying to emulate the way she trusts her game,” Keys had told reporters two days out from the final. “What’s really impressive is her mentality. Her ability to kind of always go for it, no matter what the score is. She plays such fearless tennis, and she has the ability to play so well that way. I think it’s very unique.”
There were signs Keys was in fine form heading to Melbourne Park. The 29-year-old had overcome the injuries that had plagued her 2024 season and impressed at the Auckland International. Then, two weeks later, she triumphed at the Adelaide International, defeating compatriot Jessica Pegula in another three-set final. But even that performance didn’t suggest she would be the last woman standing at the year’s first Grand Slam.
Keys collected all sorts of records with her win over Sabalenka on Saturday. She became the first woman in 16 years to defeat the top two seeds at a major. Her five three-set wins throughout the tournament tied the record for most such wins at a Grand Slam. She also played the most games of any woman en route to a major title. But her victory was just reward for persistence, Keys winning in her 46th Grand Slam appearance, the third-most starts in tennis history before capturing a first major crown.
“I always believed that I could do it,” Keys said. “I don’t know if I ever really had, like, the moment. I really felt like going into each match that if I could just try to go out, play how I wanted to play, I was really just going to give myself the opportunity to try to win the match. I slowly started to build the confidence.
“I just feel like it’s one of those things that slowly keeps building. All of a sudden, you’re winning a bunch of matches in Adelaide, then you’re coming in here. I think winning that match the other night against Iga was really kind of a big hurdle where I felt like I can absolutely win on Saturday.”
