Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
American tennis star Madison Keys upset No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka to win the Australian Open on Saturday.
Keys, 29, won 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in the tight match to win first Grand Slam Tournament.
Keys finished with just one more point than Sabalenka’s total, winning 92 points compared to Sabalenka’s 91.
For more sports coverage on FoxNews.com, click here
USA center Madison Keys reacts as she receives the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup from Evonne Goolagong Cawley after defeating Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the women’s final at the Australian Open Tennis Championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, January 25 . 2025. (AP Photo/by Han Guan)
Sabalenka was looking to win her third straight Australian Open from 1997 to 1999.
This was the second time in Keys’ career that she had a shot at a major title. Her most recent loss was to countrywoman Sloane Stephens 6-3, 6-0 in 2017 US Open.
Keys had high expectations for herself in her tennis career, but accepted the fact that she might never win a Grand Slam title.
“From a young age, I felt like if I never won a Grand Slam, I wouldn’t have measured up to what people thought it should have been. That was a pretty heavy burden to kind of carry around,” Keys said.
Novak Djokovic booed after pulling out of the Australian Open semifinals with injuries
Madison Keys of the USA reacts during her women’s final match against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus at the Australian Open Tennis Championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, January 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
“So I finally got to the point where I was proud of myself and proud of my career with or without a Grand Slam. I feel like I’ve had a good career or that I deserve to be talked about as a great tennis player .
“I feel like I’m finally letting go of such an internal conversation that I had just given myself the opportunity to actually play really good tennis, to actually win a Grand Slam.”
Keys not only upset No. 1 Sabalenka, but she also took out No. 2 Iga Świątek in the semifinals en route to her Australian Open title victory.
Key was the first woman since then Serena Williams in 2005 to defeat both of the WTA’s top two players at Melbourne Park. She said Beating Swiatek gave her confidence that she could win against Sabalenka.
Click here to get the Fox News app
Madison Keys of the USA speaks during a press conference after defeating Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the women’s final at the Australian Open Tennis Championship to win the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, January 25. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
“Winning the game against IGA was really a big hurdle,” Keys said. “I always believed I could do it, but to do it like this – I thought after the game I can absolutely win on Saturday.”
This was Key’s 46th Slam appearance, the third-most before winning a women’s major title, being only Flavia Pennetta’s 49 and Marion Bartoli’s 47 appearances before her win.
“I didn’t always believe I could get back to this point. But to do it and win, it means the world to me.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s Sports coverage on xand subscribe The Fox News Sports Huddle Newsletter.
