Physical Address
Suite 5, 181 High Street,
Willoughby North NSW 2068
Maiden Slam winner claims Aus Open! | 01:02
It’s a headline writer’s dream. But more importantly, it’s hers.
Watch every ball of The 2025 Women’s Ashes Series LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo | New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.
Madison Keys is a grand slam champion, upsetting world No.1 and back-to-back defending champion Aryna Sabalenka 6-3 2-6 7-5 in the Australian Open women’s singles final.
Keys becomes the third-oldest first-time women’s slam winner of the Open Era, behind only Italians Francesca Schivone (2010 French Open) and Flavia Pennetta (2015 US Open), making amends for her nightmare slam final debut at the 2017 US Open.
In the process she ended Sabalenka’s 20-match winning streak at Melbourne Park, completing a sudden surge from good to great.
REAX: Despair, anger from ex-Aus Open champ stuns fans… then perfect speech wins them all back
‘THIS IS WHERE I’M GONNA CRY’: AO champ melts hearts, has husband in tears with winning speech
Keys, who seemed stuck as a perennial top-20 type and slam quarter-final contender (but rarely more), didn’t advance out of the fourth round of any slam in 2024. But she changed her racquet, strings and service motion in recent months, at the urging of husband and coach Bjorn Fratangelo, adding even more power to her game but also precision.
It’s a combination which worked wonderfully against the similarly strong Sabalenka – whose service yips returned at the worst possible time, with key double-faults at critical moments in the first set.
Sabalenka recovered to win the second set, making it 87 consecutive grand slam matches without a straight sets loss, but Keys wasn’t broken in the third and then cracked the world No.1’s serve at the final opportunity.
“This is one of the most popular wins in decades,” Sam Smith said on Nine of the much-loved American who saved match points in the semi-final.
Sabalenka was seen in tears, burying her face in a towel and smashing her racquet before walking off court.
Sabalenka’s infamous serving yips – which left her in tears on the court during a 2022 Aussie summer warm-up event as she was forced to serve underarm just to land them in play – returned in the opening game as she double-faulted twice on route to being broken for 1-0.
Notably though she was serving with quite a strong wind at her back, with Jelena Dokic adding on Nine: “You can see the wind assist there, can’t you. That’s scary behind the Sabalenka serve.”
It didn’t seem to help her, with Sabalenka double-faulting again while serving at 30-30 down 3-1, then erring on an awkward volley attempt to give Keys the double break.
Keys was broken while serving for the opening set, unable to convert one set point, but at 5-3 Sabalenka again delivered a double-fault at 30-30, the American then firing a backhand winner down the line to take the first set 6-3.
The world No.1 lifted to begin the second set, earning five break points in Keys’ first two service games and eventually converting for the lead.
She repeated Keys’ first set feat by earning the double break, but did what Keys couldn’t and served it out, levelling the match at 3-6 6-2.
The thriller went up a notch in the third set with neither woman really threatened on their serve at all on route to 5-5 before Sabalenka was finally stopped – and walked off court.
Earlier, one of the more unique scenes in pro sports emerged on Saturday afternoon with Australian Open men’s finalists Jannik Sinner and Alex Zverev training together.
Despite the fact they’ll go head to head on Sunday night for the singles title, the world No.1 and No.2 were seen sharing a laugh and having a chat while riding stationary bikes in the training area.
But as American great Jim Courier explained, while you’d think many players wouldn’t get along, they can’t often afford to have poor relationships with the few others who live the same globe-trotting life as them.
“This is a by-product of the fact that the players share the locker room. They share the same facilities. In team sports they have their own. They are separated. These guys basically are going to the same university,” Courier said on Nine.
“They travel around the world together. It is the circus. They are a part of it. So, you have to find ways to get along because the spaces are too small to kind of carry grudges and have to avoid each other. You will bump into them there. Can’t help it.”
Alex Zverev and Jannik Sinner trained together before the men’s final.Source: FOX SPORTSNot all players get along swimmingly. Most notably Zverev has been criticised for his off-court behaviour by many WTA stars.
He was accused by multiple ex-girlfriends of domestic abuse over the last few years; one investigation by tennis authorities was dropped, while the other was settled under a unique German court system ruling, which is technically a settlement and means Zverev maintains his presumption of innocence, but the courts did not declare him not guilty either.
Notably, Zverev had to pay a €200,000 ‘financial stipulation’ – which would not have been required if the judge had formally declared him not guilty.
Meanwhile there are plenty of fans in tennis still missing Roger Federer, but an eerily similar young gun is coming through the ranks.
Henry Bernet, on his 18th birthday, won the Australian Open boys’ singles title 6-3 6-4 on Saturday.
But it’s not just the fact that he’s Swiss that has drawn comparisons to the legend Federer.
Switzerland’s Henry Bernet poses with the winner’s trophy after his victory against USA’s Benjamin Willwerth in their junior boys’ singles final match on day fourteen of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 25, 2025. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)Source: AFPBoth Bernet and Federer came from the same tennis club, TC Old Boys Basel, have been trained by the same coach (Severin Luthi) and perhaps most importantly for hardcore fans, employ the one-handed backhand, which has been going out of style.
“I have been compared already with Roger, but it is like, ‘He is another world. He is playing at another level and I am very far away from it.’ But it keeps me motivated,” Bernet told Foxsports.com.au during the French Open last year.
“I mean, what Roger and Stan (Wawrinka) achieved for the country Switzerland is not normal and it’s just an inspiration for us young people.”
Wakana Sonobe, who beat Aussie junior world No.1 Emerson Jones in the semi-finals, smashed Kristina Penickova 6-0 6-1 to win the girls’ title.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN DAY 14 ORDER OF PLAY (All times AEDT)
Women’s Final
Rod Laver Arena
Not before 7:30pm
No.1 Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) vs No.19 Madison Keys (USA)
