1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

Australian Open: Madison Keys wins first Grand Slam trophy

January 25, 2025

In the final of the Australian Open, American Madison Keys upset two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in three sets.

https://p.dw.com/p/4pcMn
Madison Keys grimaces while hitting a backhand return during the women's singles final at the Australian Open
Madison Keys said after winning the Australian Open final that she had wanted this 'for so long'Image: Asanka Brendon Ratnayak/AP Photo/picture alliance

Madison Keys of the United States won her first Grand Slam title on Saturday, defeating two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the Australian Open final at Melbourne Park.

The 29-year-old American tennis player, who was ranked 14th and seeded 19th, won the match in three sets, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.

Celebrating her victory, Keys hugged her husband Bjorn Fratangelo, who has been her coach since 2023.

Long-awaited trophy for Keys

It is the first major title for Keys, and only her second Grand Slam final. Eight years ago, she came in second at the US Open after losing to Sloane Stephens.

Keys is the oldest woman to win a major for the first time since Flavia Pennetta at the 2015 US Open, when the latter was 33.

"I have wanted this for so long," said Keys, "and I have been in one other Grand Slam final, and it didn't go my way, and I didn't know if I was going to get back in this position."

Aryna Sabalenka screams while bending towards the ground during Australian Open
Aryna Sabalenka lost what would have been her third consecutive women's title at the Australian OpenImage: Asanka Brendon Ratnayak/AP Photo/picture alliance

Disappointment for Sabalenka

After the final, Belarusian defending champion Sabalenka threw away her racket in apparent frustration.

"Just wasn't my day," she said after the match.

Keys prevented Sabalenka from winning what would have been her third consecutive women's title at the Australian Open and her fourth major title overall.

The men's final of the Australian Open is on Sunday, pitting defending champion Jannik Sinner against Germany's Alexander Zverev.

Italy's Sinner eliminated American Ben Shelton in the semifinals, while Zverev advanced when 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia withdrew with an injury.

dh/dj (AP, AFP)