
There are many different routes to winning your first Grand Slam. Some have been surprise runs like Emma Raducanu’s fairytale victory, winning a slam as a qualifier at the US Open in 2021. Jelena Ostapenko’s Roland Garros 2017 title is another out of nowhere win. Sloane Stephens, Bianca Andreescu and Barbora Krejcikova had a good few months but were still slightly surprising slam champions.. Then there are the players who have been around at the top for a long time with ‘when will they get that slam?’ questions finally managing it, like Caroline Wozniacki, Simona Halep even Aryna Sabalenka. There are also the WTA stalwarts who made a late breakthrough to cap off a decent career, like Francesca Schiavonne, Flavia Pennetta, Sam Stosur and Marion Bartoli. Sometimes a player bursts out with their first slam and it signals their rise to the very top like Ash Barty and Iga Swiatek.
Madison Keys is the 2025 Australian Open champion and this fortnight was just pure excellence from someone who has promised so much from a young age. She has been around the top of the game for over 10 years. Generally acknowledged as one of the cleanest and hardest hitters on the tour, Madi has earned a reputation of never quite having the nerve when it came to the big moments. She made a Grand Slam final in 2017 playing fellow American Sloane Stevens and just didn’t show up at all, losing 3 and 0.
Fast forward a few years and plenty of deep runs at slams without ever really being seen as a serious contender, and the 2023 US Open semi-final against Aryna Sabalenka. Keys starting absolutely brilliantly taking the first set to love and serving for the second and a famous victory only to wobble and lose the following two sets 7-6, 7-6 with the match on her racket. That day Keys showed how high her peak is, with her superb ball striking. It was almost flawless tennis from Keys… until it wasn’t.
It seemed this would be the narrative for Keys – super talented but never going to win big due to lack of mental strength. She was always there or thereabouts, maintaining a top 20 ranking for many years and winning eight WTA titles. In 2024 Keys had Jasmine Paolini virtually beaten in the fourth round at Wimbledon until a thigh strain meant she couldn’t move and of course Paolini went on to make the final.
Keys began 2025 strongly with the title in Adelaide, beating Jess Pegula in the final. Still, very few people were talking about her at the 2025 Australian Open. It was all about Sabalenka going for a third title in a row, Iga Swiatek who came into the tournament seemingly more prepared for fast courts and Coco Gauff had who actually looked like the best player in the world for the last couple of months. I did my own preview of the year and it was them, Qinwen Zheng, Jasmine Paolini, or the new players like Mirra Andreeva, Diana Shnaider or Emma Navarro.
So how did Madison Keys win the Australian Open?
When you look at Keys’ run she completely turned the storybook of not being clutch on its head. A string of tough opponents that she simply was better than on the day. In round four she had a match against Elena Rybakina, one of the favourites although returning from injury. Keys started strongly, winning the first set playing very well but had a real slump in the second set. With the momentum on her side, Rybakina held easily then had multiple break points on the Keys serve for an early break. Madi held firm and held serve for 1-1, and then broke Rybakina to grab control of the match. There was another spell near the very end of the match when it looked like the tide might turn towards Rybakina, but Keys started hitting out brilliantly and took the match strongly.
This should have been sign for doubters but Keys has always been able to pull off a big win. Backing it up for a sustained period seemed a long shot, especially with her draw. In the quarterfinal she got win over a battling Elina Svitolina after dropping the first set. Making a major semifinal was a great run but with world number 2 Iga Swiatek waiting, it would surely be the end of her run. Iga had looked brilliant, dropping only 14 games in her run to the semifinal. A super consistent player, it would undoubtedly be a step too far for Madison Keys. Right?
Absolutely none of that!
In the match of the year so far, Keys saved a match point and beat Swiatek in a match tiebreak, 10-8 with just breathtakingly good tennis. What was especially notable was her emotional and mental strength in the big moments playing one of the best players in the world for the last few years. Iga was playing well, but Keys just carried on going for those shots, especially down the line, and served really well too. Iga had a few wobbles such as failing to return a Keys forehand on match point, a double fault to give Keys the break back and enter the match tie break and ballooning her own forehand on match point to Keys, but it was really just a point here and there. An electrifying match, two players going for it and a super tense finish… and Madison Keys was the most clutch! Yes really!
Going into the final the manner of that victory did make a lot of people think she had a chance, but Sabalenka was still the overwhelming favourite. However, Keys came out playing the same adventurous, aggressive brand of tennis that she had against Iga. She went 5-1 up, eventually winning the first set against a slightly flat and erratic Sabalenka 6-4. Once again she had a bit of a dip and Sabalenka, the champion that she is, came back strong. Sabalenka mixed up her her shots, using the drop shot really effectively. Keys is great from the back of the court, but not much of a volleyer!
For me one of the key moments of this final was in the second set. It was 5-1 to a much improved Sabalenka with Keys serving to stay in the set. Sabalenka had the chance after going 30-0 up on Madi’s serve. If she could break her here and take the set, she would start serving in the final set. Keys did not let her! By making Sabalenka serve out the set, it ensured Keys would serve first in the decider and for me, this was absolutely key (no pun intended!)
In a tight final set, serve was dominant but whenever Sabalenka had a few small chances with a 0-15 or 0-30, Keys would produce a big serve to hold or hit one of her big shots. Meanwhile Sabalenka was more solid but always playing catch up serving second. Time and again Keys would hold to go a game up putting the pressure on Sabalenka to hold and level up.
The defining moments of this final was 5-5, 30-30 with Keys serving. Surely this would be the moment for Sabalenka to pounce and get the break point? Second serve out wide. Sabalenka sent a hard deep return to Keys forehand corner but Keys crouched down and used the pace, redirecting to hit a brilliant winner down the line. A stunning shot. It would have been so easy to be half a second late on it and miss. Instead it was 40-30 then a quick close out to take a 6-5 lead. With Sabalenka serving to take the match into a final set tiebreak, Keys was able to be free and aggressive and most importantly, needed to be brave. She was, and soon got to championship point at 15-40. Sabalenka wasn’t quite ready to quit and played a great point to save the first one but on the second match point, once they got into a rally there was a small gap and Keys hit a blistering inside out forehand winner to take the title. The stats show how close this match was – Keys won just one more point than Sabalenka overall, but it seemed that as the match went on, she was the more clutch player and fully deserved the magnificent Daphne Akhurst trophy (so much nicer than the men’s trophy!)
I am a Sabalenka fan and I was really rooting for her to get this third, but I don’t think there’s anybody in tennis who has not been happy for Madison Keys. Sabalenka was understandably devastated gave Madi a nice hug but then smashed a racket and sat with a towel over head in disappointment. Sabalenka then took herself off court to compose herself and I thought she did incredibly well to come out and give a lovely speech with her usual blend of self deprecation and comedy and appreciation for opponent. This was Madison Keys’ night and Sabalenka was left to accept that she was playing someone in absolutely blistering form.
When you look at Keys’ run and the people she had to beat, it’s almost unmatched. Danielle Collins, Elena Rybakina, Elena Svitolina, the world number two Swiatek and the world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
The manner of those victories certainly against Swiatek and Sabalenka was in many ways the most remarkable thing. Swiatek and Sabalenka were playing well, but when it came down to the crunch, Keys didn’t blink, she didn’t falter. Many people in tennis would’ve said that was impossible – that Madison Keys wasn’t that type of player. That when it came to it, she didn’t quite have it. How brilliant then such a nice person and a brilliant tennis player is able to add her name to the list of Grand Slam champions.
A word on Aryna Sabalenka. I watched all of her matches (with no Barbora Krejcikova to cheer for!) and she was not at her best. To be honest, I don’t think she has been since the US Open. Here in Australia
she won the Brisbane tournament, but the field was not the strongest – and she was pushed all the way in the final by Polina Kudermetova (Veronika’s little sister). That she won one tournament and made the final at a grand slam – and on most days would have won this match – says a lot about her competitive spirit and mental strength. Someone noted that her ball toss was higher and her serve speed was down on her dominant run last year. Lingering issues with her shoulder that put her out of Wimbledon? A tactical change? Sabalenka has added angles and drop shots to her power game, but is the power slightly down? Certainly it seemed that Keys’ serve was the more potent weapon in this final.
Where this leaves the WTA is a bit of a mystery. Will Keys continue on with this on a form or will this have been the cherry on the top of her career and will she feel satisfied now? She’s a great grass court player and has won Eastbourne couple of times. She has done well at Wimbledon several times too. She has to be a threat there but it will be interesting to see how she is over the next few months. Whether she still has the hunger to achieve more. Keys turns 30 in the next couple of weeks Will she have a sense of job done?
For Aryna Sabalenka, she remains at number one despite not defending her title and doesn’t have that many points to defend while Swiatek, this time last year won a stack of big tournaments. Iga had a great start to the season and had been playing really well. Will she get back to winning ways? Coco Gauff had a bit of a relapse in form in her match against Paula Badosa. Badosa is a hard hitting player but Gauff’s forehand and serve problems reared their ugly heads again in her quarterfinal loss. Seemingly a lot better in the last few months they showed their frailty again. Just a blip? I have a feeling it will be Swiatek, Sabalenka and Gauff vying for the next few titles again but will Keys push on? Will Rybakina reunite with her former coach Vukov? What about Qinwen Zheng who seemed to pushing herself into contention but lost in the first round to Laura Siegemund?
Overall, the women’s tournament at the 2025 Australian Open was a good one with many of the top players playing well. While Keys takes the trophy, a few other players caught the eye. Paula Badosa making her first Grand Slam semi-final, Elina Svitolina going deep, the return of Belinda Bencic after pregnancy, Naomi Osaka looking great until she got injured. And the younger players Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider, who actually had more success in doubles than singles at the Australian Open this year, pushing the eventual champions, Siniakova and Townsend hard in the semifinals of the doubles. However, both of those two young players could well be poised to do some damage. Early losses for Jessica Pegula and Jasmine Paollini mean they have more to do. Emma Navarro had a good run but honestly never played that brilliantly and every match for her was a three set battle. Faced with Swiatek in the quarterfinals, Navarro showed the limitations of her game. That while she is very consistent and very fit she doesn’t have the weapons to trouble someone like Iga. And of course, we all await the return of Barbora Krejcikova with baited breath!
I think the overriding memory of this 2025 Australian Open will be the magnificent play of Madison Keys. I loved her comments in the press when she said she had spent a lot of time in therapy and come to appreciate her career. That she no longer NEEDED to win a grand slam to fulfil the expectations of many in the US. But having recently got married and changed her racket, she was determined to be brave – she used Aryna Sabalenka as an example – to go for her shots and have no regrets. That now, she WANTED to win a slam. And that she did. Even for a Sabalenka fan like me, it was brilliant.
Congratulations to Madison Keys.

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