US tennis player Madison Keys earned her first-ever Grand Slam title on Saturday, taking down back-to-back defending champ and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the 2025 Australian Open final.
On the heels of a three-set semifinal ousting of No. 2 Iga Świątek last Thursday, Keys' 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 Saturday victory made her the first player to upset both the world No. 1 and No. 2 in the same Grand Slam since Svetlana Kuznetsova did so at the 2009 French Open. The 29-year-old is also the first to do it in Melbourne since Serena Williams in 2005.
Only three other WTA players have racked up more Grand Slam main draws before winning their first title. On Saturday, Keys tied Caroline Wozniacki for making the most Australian Open main-draw singles appearances before lifting the trophy.
Keys's Australian Open run included five wins over seeded opponents, four of them in the WTA's Top 10 entering the tournament. Plus, with five three-set victories, Keys tied the record for the most three-set wins at any of the four Grand Slams.
However, none of those records compare with winning her first major.
"I’ve wanted this for so long," Keys said holding her trophy during the post-match ceremony.
Keys' championship was years in the making
Keys burst onto the pro scene on her 14th birthday back in 2009, and has been a Top 20 mainstay for most of the last decade.
The US star has appeared in at least the quarterfinal round of all four majors multiple times. However, she had only one Grand Slam final under her belt prior to this weekend's championship match — a 2017 US Open loss to Sloane Stephens.
Ultimately, it took relinquishing her desperation to win a Slam to actually snag that elusive trophy.
"I've done a lot of work to no longer need [winning a Grand Slam]," Keys explained after her win. "I really wanted it, but it's no longer the thing that was going to define me, and kind of letting go of that burden, I finally gave myself the ability to play for it."
Slam win returns Keys to the WTA's Top 10
The WTA updated their rankings early Monday, with Keys's breakthrough performance boosting her to No. 7 — her first Top 10 slot since January 2023. The new rank also ties her career-high, with Keys first peaking at No. 7 in October 2016.
Keys's rise also solidifies the US as arguably the nation most flush with the sport's top talent. The US now boasts four players in the Top 10, with Keys joining No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 6 Jessica Pegula, and No. 9 Emma Navarro. No other nation has more than one athlete in that elite tier.
That said, the WTA's best stayed put in Monday's rankings. Despite their Australian Open losses, all four top seeds — Sabalenka, Świątek, Gauff, and No. 4 Jasmine Paolini — retained their top spots.
In the biggest upset of the 2025 Australian Open so far, 19-seed Madison Keys defeated world No. 2 Iga Świątek in a back-and-forth three-set semifinal early Thursday morning.
Entering as the tournament's only athlete to win every set, five-time Grand Slam champion Świątek conceded more games to Keys than in her previous five Australian Open matches combined.
Keys's speedy serve and heavy forehand paired with a Świątek double-fault pushed the match to a tie-break decider, with the US star ultimately winning 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10-8).
"It just became who can get that final point and who can be a little bit better than the other one," Keys said post-match. "I'm happy it was me."
Keys's victory is just the latest chapter in a 2025 Australian Open run that's seen her beat three Top 10 contenders in Świątek, No. 6 Elena Rybakina, and No. 10 Danielle Collins. Those victories earned the 29-year-old her own Top 10 spot in next Monday’s WTA rankings.
With Thursday's win, Keys booked her second-ever Grand Slam championship match, returning to the sport's top stage for the first time since the 2017 US Open.
One last challenge awaits Keys
To claim her career's first Grand Slam trophy, however, Keys will have to defeat reigning champion and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who comfortably downed Spain's No. 11 Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday in pursuit of a third-straight Australian Open title.
In their five previous meetings, Keys has only beaten Sabalenka once, topping her in Berlin in 2021.
Sabalenka won their most recent bout in the 2023 US Open semifinals. However, that three-set slog was similar to Keys's gritty victory over Świątek and, if she can maintain the composure and energy she displayed on Thursday, the US star's momentum could fuel her to similarly stun Sabalenka.
How to watch the 2025 Australian Open final
Saturday's Australian Open final between Keys and Sabalenka will take the court at 3:30 AM ET, with live coverage on ESPN.
World No. 3 Coco Gauff exited the 2025 Australian Open on Monday night, falling 7-5, 6-4 to Spain's No. 11 Paula Badosa in the Grand Slam's quarterfinal round.
Gauff's recent improvements seemed to fade in her first loss of the year, which saw the 2025 United Cup champ record 41 unforced errors, including 28 missed forehands and six double-faults.
As a result, Badosa advances to her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal, a marked comeback after a 2023 injury nearly ended her career.
"I would never think that, a year after, I would be here," Badosa said post-match. "I've been through a lot."
Sabalenka looms after quarterfinal victory
Badosa moves on to face back-to-back defending champion Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday, as the world No. 1 sets her sights on becoming the first three-peat Australian Open women's champ this century.
Sabalenka advanced past No. 27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in an early Tuesday morning quarterfinal to reach her 10th major semifinal in her last 11 Grand Slams.
The 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory didn't come easily, though, as Pavlyuchenkova managed to snap the 26-year-old's 25-set Australian Open winning streak which dates back to her 2023 final win.
"I’m really glad that at some point I was able to put myself back together," said Sabalenka about the tough match. "I was able to keep fighting, keep trying, and I was able to turn around this match. It was a really difficult one."
US players to close out Australian Open quarterfinals
The Melbourne Slam's remaining two quarterfinals each place a US tennis star in the spotlight on Tuesday.
Fresh off ousting No. 10 Danielle Collins and No. 6 Elena Rybakina in the third and fourth rounds, No. 19 Madison Keys will square off against No. 28 Elina Svitolina for a shot at the semis. This will be Keys's first match against the Ukrainian since taking a two-set victory over Svitolina in Adelaide in January 2022.
The nightcap pits three-set specialist No. 8 Emma Navarro against perennial contender No. 2 Iga Świątek, marking the second-ever meeting — and first since 2018 — between the 23-year-olds.
The Polish phenom has yet to drop a set all tournament, and has seemed near-unbeatable after losing just four games across her last three matches. That said, Navarro has proved she just won't quit, leading the WTA in three-set contests over the last year — and gritting out a 24-9 record in the same span. Consequently, the longer Tuesday's match runs, the more it will likely favor the US star.
How to watch the 2025 Australian Open this week
No. 19 Madison Keys will clash with No. 28 Elina Svitolina starting at 7:30 PM ET on Tuesday, with No. 8 Emma Navarro's bout against No. 2 Iga Świątek beginning at 9 PM ET.
Both Tuesday quarterfinals will be broadcast live across ESPN’s platforms.
Tennis's first Grand Slam of 2025 kicks off on Saturday, with the sport's heaviest hitters convening in Melbourne for the Australian Open.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka — the reigning back-to-back Australian Open champion — enters as the tournament's first overall seed for the first time. However, she'll see stiff competition by way of No. 2 Iga Świątek, No. 3 Coco Gauff, and No. 4 Jasmine Paolini.
"For me being the one to chase... I like that feeling," Sabalenka told reporters this morning. "That's what drives me and helps me to stay motivated because I know that I have a target on my back."
Tough roads to the trophy litter Australian Open draw
Each top contender faces a tricky tournament draw, with upset potential lurking in every quadrant.
Sabalenka could meet 2024 Olympic gold medalist and WTA Finals runner-up No. 5 Zheng Qinwen as early as the quarterfinals, as long as she survives a first-round matchup against 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens.
Reigning WTA Finals champion Gauff's quadrant is in Sabalenka's half of the field, setting up a possible rematch of last year's semifinal. As for the 20-year-old US star's path, earlier rounds could see Gauff contending with tough competitors like 2021 Australian Open champ Naomi Osaka, 2024 US Open semifinalist Karolína Muchová, and 2024 US Open finalist No. 7 Jessica Pegula.
Świątek and Paolini could also meet in a semifinal, though fellow top competitors No. 8 Emma Navarro and 2020 Australian Open winner Ons Jabeur stand in Świątek's way while No. 10 Danielle Collins and 2022 Wimbledon champion No. 6 Elena Rybakina have been drawn into Paolini's quadrant.
How to watch the 2025 Australian Open
The 2025 Australian Open's first round starts on Saturday at 7 PM ET, with Sabalenka's first-round match set for 3 AM ET on Sunday.
Live coverage for the tournament will air across ESPN platforms.
World No. 3 Coco Gauff took down No. 2 Iga Świątek in straight sets at Sunday's United Cup final, helping to secure a big US team win at the Australian Open tune-up tournament.
"It's great to win a team event, the only team event I've ever won, so I'm super excited," Gauff said after the match.
With Sunday's victory, Team USA owns two of the three titles in the annual 18-country contest, adding the 2025 trophy to their inaugural 2023 hardware. Świątek's Poland, on the other hand, fell short for the second year in a row after also earning runner-up status behind 2024 champion Germany.
Gauff doesn't skip a beat in 2025 kickoff
After winning every set in the new year, Gauff remains undefeated in 2025 play, maintaining the momentum she built by closing out her 2024 campaign with victories at both October's China Open and November's WTA Finals.
The 20-year-old faltered in her attempt to defend her 2023 US Open title, falling in the fourth round of the Grand Slam's 2024 edition last September. In the wake of that disappointing result, Gauff parted ways with coach Brad Gilbert, and began tweaking her game to solidify her style — with a particular focus on grip strength.
Behind new coach Matt Daly, the changes to Gauff's grip improved both her serve and her forehand — the latter something Świątek had exploited to consistent success over Gauff, with the Polish star logging 11 wins in the pair's first 12 meetings.
The era of Świątek's dominance over Gauff seems to have ended, however, with the US phenom now adding two straight wins over Świątek to the pair's all-time tally, tacking Sunday's victory on top of their 2024 WTA Finals tilt — a tournament in which Gauff also defeated world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Her trend of downing top-ranked international tennis stars continued at the United Cup, where Gauff also defeated No. 31 Leylah Fernandez, No. 19 Donna Vekic, and 2024 US Open semifinalist No. 21 Karolina Muchová en route to the US team title.
"I have the belief that I'm one of the best players in the world. When I play good tennis, I'm hard to beat," Gauff added on Sunday.
First 2025 Slam to test Gauff's momentum
Gauff's hot streak will face its first major 2025 challenge when tennis' first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, kicks off on January 12th to run through January 25th.
The Melbourne tournament will see Sabalenka, who opened her 2025 account with an 18th career title at the Brisbane International on Sunday, try to become the first three-peat Australian Open women's champion this century.
However, Gauff is primed to interrupt that feat, with the US star poised to give the back-to-back defending champ a run for her money.
Coco Gauff is into her first Australian Open quarterfinal after a smooth fourth round win over Magdalena Frech.
“First Aussie quarterfinal, super happy to be in this position and be here,” Gauff said after her win. “It’s cool to get over that hump. Hopefully I can keep going for more.”
The reigning US Open champion needed just 63 minutes to get the win in Rod Laver Arena. And the Australian legend was in attendance himself to watch it.
When asked on the court after the win why she went so quick, Gauff joked that it was because she wanted to go see The Iron Claw in theaters.
“I wanna go to the movies,” she said, laughing.
At 19 years old, she is the youngest woman to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals since Agnieska Radwanska in 2008.
Hours after Gauff, Linda Noskova – who is also 19 – also made the quarterfinals. The last teenager to make the quarterfinals at the Australian Open was Madison Keys in 2015.
Gauff will next meet Marta Kostyuk, who ousted her round of 16 opponent in just an hour and 16 minutes. If she were to win that match, Gauff could set up a US Open final rematch in the semifinals against reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka.
There’s no doubt that Gauff is one of the hottest players on tour right now, posting a 32-4 record since the beginning of August – a near 90 percent winning percentage.
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who was bounced from the Australian Open by Noskova on Saturday, sits just behind Gauff, and is one of just two players to have defeated Gauff in the last six months. Both she and Jessica Pegula, the other player to do it, are now out of this year’s Open.
Mirra Andreeva continues to post seemingly improbable performances, coming back from being down 5-1 in the final set against Diane Parry to win the match.
It was the second time the two have met, with the 16-year-old Andreeva also winning the first match. On Thursday, it seemed as though Parry was going to pull even in their head-to-head, having won the first set 6-1 and leading in the third 5-1.
But Andreeva saved match point at 5-2 before rattling off five games in a row. Eventually, she won the 10-point tiebreak.
Teen Queen 👑
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 19, 2024
Mirra Andreeva erases a match point & 1-5 deficit to defeat Parry 1-6 6-1 7-6 [10-5] in the third round!#AusOpen • #AO2024@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/UHsjqGvuuu
“I would prefer to win in straight sets. I think everybody would,” Andreeva said afterwards. “But it’s also good to win when you’re fighting for every point. I think I will have a lot of matches like this in my career. I’m just happy with the win. I don’t care how I win exactly with the score and the time, I just want to win.
“If it takes three sets, then I’m happy to win with three sets. If it takes two sets, then of course I’m happy to win with two sets.”
Andreeva gave credit to her competitor, who she says played “really well” in the first set.
“It was really tough for me to do something,” Andreeva said afterwards. “Then I just found my way. Honestly, overall it was a crazy match for me. In the third set I didn’t really expect to come back, but I did it, so I’m very happy.”
Mirra Andreeva is making her Australian Open debut in style, beating 6-seed Ons Jabeur in straight sets.
The 16-year-old’s first career top-10 victory came in decisive fashion, as Andreeva won 6-0, 6-2 in just 54 minutes. Afterwards, the 47th-ranked Russian player had nothing but great things to say about her opponent, who she considers one of her idols.
“It was one of my dreams to play against her because I really like the way she plays,” she told reporters afterwards. “As I said before, I’m inspired by her, so it means a lot. Today, it meant a lot, this match that I won.
“Now, after the match, she came to me, she wished me luck. I just know that she is who she is and she never changes. That’s what I like about her.”
Andreeva dominated from the beginning to the end, facing just one break point throughout the match. She hit 13 winners and only 10 unforced errors. Jabeur, in contrast, hit just nine winners to 24 unforced errors.
According to the WTA, Andreeva is just the second-youngest player in the Open era to concede three games or fewer against a top-10 seed at a grand slam. Jelena Dokic is the youngest, having beaten Martina Hingis at Wimbledon in 1999.
The teenager called it “probably the best match” of her career thus far.
“The first set, I didn’t expect that I would play this good. Second set was also not bad,” she said. “For me, it was an amazing match. I’m super happy with the level that I showed today on the court.”
She’s the first player aged 17 or younger to defeat a top-10 player at the Australian Open since Coco Gauff beat then-defending champion Naomi Osaka in the 2019 tournament’s third round. Gauff won her second round match in straight sets on Tuesday, extending her winning streak at Grand Slams to nine matches.
Naomi Osaka took to the practice court Wednesday ahead of her return to tennis at the Brisbane International.
The former world No. 1 is set to make her WTA comeback at the tournament, which begins Sunday. She spent the last year out on maternity leave, and she gave birth to her daughter Shai in July.
A two-time Australian Open and US Open champion, Osaka pulled out of the 2023 Australian Open in Melbourne before revealing her pregnancy. Osaka last competed at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September 2022.
“She’s really pumped, excited to be back in Brisbane,” tournament director Cameron Pearson said Wednesday. “She arrived Christmas morning and was out practicing a few hours later. No Christmas pudding for her, she was straight into it.”
The 26-year-old also spoke Friday about how motherhood has given her a new outlook on the game.
“Being a mum has changed my life a lot. I think it changed my perspective on a lot of things,” Osaka said. “Giving birth was one of the most painful things I’ve ever gone through. It’s definitely made me feel like physically I can handle a lot.
“I want to show Shai that she’s capable of everything, so that’s one of my main purposes and main reasons why I want to be back out here.”
But she also has realistic expectations about the Australian Open after having not competed in over a year.
“I’ve given myself the biggest chance to do well, but at the same time, I haven’t had any match play,” Osaka said. “I’m just embracing the fact that it’s my first tournament in a very long time. I’m just trying to have fun and do well at the same time.”
Osaka received a wild-card entry to the tournament. The field also includes reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, US Open champion Coco Gauff, world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and Sloane Stephens in the 54-player women’s draw.
Aryna Sabalenka won her first major on Saturday, taking home the Australian Open singles title.
While she had won doubles twice, she had never reached a final in a singles tournament, let alone won.
After going down 4-6 in the first set to Elena Rybakina, Sabalenka rebounded in the next two sets 6-3, 6-4 to take the comeback victory. With the win, she’ll rise to No. 2 in the world rankings on Monday.
“The last game, yeah, of course, I was a little bit nervous. I (kept) telling myself, like, ’Nobody tells you that it’s going to be easy.′ You just have to work for it, work for it, ’til the last point,” said Sabalenka. “I’m super happy that I was able to handle all those emotions and win this one.”
She was presented the trophy by Billie Jean King, who called the match “thrilling.”
“Both Sabalenka and Rybakina played so well,” she wrote in a social media post. “Honored to present Aryna with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.”
Congratulations to Aryna Sabalenka on her first Grand Slam title!
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) January 28, 2023
It was a thrilling match and both Sabalenka and Rybakina played so well.
Honored to present Aryna with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. 🏆#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/l8WCXsmcfW
Earlier this week, King spoke out in support of Belrusian and Russian players, who have been banned from using their country’s name or flag by the WTA.
“Just keep it the same way as the other ones are. Life is too short,” she said when asked about the bans. “I think they should get prize money. Just have them play and get their money. It’s the ranking points, for sure. They have to have it.
“Rybakina, they’ve seeded her 25th, but because she won Wimbledon, she’s not [seeded higher]. We are a platform to have discussions on this, though, just like you’re asking. I think it’s important. The WTA was started for that, so we’d all have one voice, too, to help protect players.”
While Sabalenka spoke plenty with reporters after the match, her first words as a Grand Slam champion were directed at King, with Sabalenka thanking the tennis legend.
“It’s such an inspiration to receive the trophy from you,” she said. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for our sport. I couldn’t be more thankful.”