Final victory against world number 1 Madison Keys wins Australian Open

Linus Hämmerli

25.1.2025

Madison Keys celebrates a great success at the Australian Open.
Madison Keys celebrates a great success at the Australian Open.
Vincent Thian/AP/dpa

Madison Keys crowns herself the winner of the Australian Open in Melbourne. In the final, the US-American defeats Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus in three sets.

Madison Keys surprisingly wins the Australian Open and thus her first Grand Slam title. The American, who started the final as an outsider, beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6:3, 2:6, 7:5. The Belarusian has won the first major tournament of the year twice before.

The soon-to-be 30-year-old Keys, currently ranked No. 14 in the world, achieved what she was denied a good seven years ago by beating Sabalenka. At the US Open, she missed out on the crown with a 3:6, 0:6 defeat to compatriot Sloane Stephens. And in the past two weeks she has achieved what Svetlana Kuznetsova last did at the French Open in 2009. Like the Russian more than 15 years ago, Keys was able to defeat the world numbers 1 and 2 on the way to her coup. In the semi-final, she had knocked out Poland's Iga Swiatek.

The first phase of the final was excellent for Keys. She clearly dominated the action against a rival who was making far too many mistakes. After just under half an hour, she wins the first set. Keys was not quite able to maintain her level and had to concede the set to Sabalenka.

Nevertheless, Keys holds her nerve, withstands the pressure several times - and finds her stride again in the third set. She clinched the set with a service break in the final game.

Thanks to her triumph in the Rod Laver Arena, Keys will return to the top ten in the world rankings. From Monday, she will be number 7 and thus equal her previous best ranking. The last time she was among the best was in August 2019, when she was number 9.