Tennis news: Madison Keys wins first-ever Grand Slam title at Australian Open
US tennis player Madison Keys won her first-ever Grand Slam title on Saturday when she defeated two-time defending champion and world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in the 2025 Australian Open final.
Sabalenka was the heavy favourite heading into the match, but Keys fought hard to win a three-set thriller 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.
Keys’ triumph comes off the back of much-publicised physical and mental struggles.
Sports News Blitz writer Shameeka Voyiya reports on the story.
Dream finally comes true for Keys
Having also beaten Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals on Thursday, Keys is the first woman to defeat the top two players in the world in the same Grand Slam since Svetlana Kuznetsova at the 2009 French Open.
In addition, with five three-set victories during the tournament, the 29-year-old ties the record for most three-set wins in one edition of a Grand Slam.
“I’ve wanted this for so long,” Keys said during the post-match ceremony, holding her trophy.
“I've done a lot of work to no longer need [a Grand Slam]. I really wanted it, but it's no longer the thing that was going to define me. And [by] letting go of that burden, I finally gave myself the ability to play for it.”
US continues to dominate women’s tennis
Keys turned professional in 2009 on her 14th birthday and later made the Australian Open semi-finals while still a teenager.
The Rock Island native proved a mainstay on the WTA circuit over the next decade, making it to the quarter-final stage or better at all four major Grand Slams.
Thanks to her victory over Sabalenka on Saturday, Keys moves up to No.7 in the WTA world rankings, entering the top 10 for the first time since January 2023.
As a result, the US now boasts four players in the top 10 – no other nation has more than one – with Keys joining No.3 Coco Gauff, No.6 Jessica Pegula, and No.9 Emma Navarro at the pinnacle of women’s tennis.
MORE FROM SHAMEEKA VOYIYA: American tennis star Coco Gauff named the highest-paid female athlete for 2024
