Madison Keys Australian Open win: The 29-year-old sets two historic records for American tennis

Posted by author January 26, 2025 Tennis

This past Saturday turned out to be a historic day in Madison Keys’ life as the 29-year-old American standout stunned the world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, to secure her first major title at the ongoing Australian Open 2025. Keys made her international debut in 2009, quickly establishing herself as one of the brightest prospects in American tennis. Despite her immense potential, a Grand Slam trophy always eluded her grasp. In 2017, she came agonizingly close, reaching the US Open final but falling short against fellow American Sloane Stephens.

But not this time; she displayed resilient gameplay throughout the Australian Open and won the first grand slam of her career. By doing so, the Illinois native also achieved two incredible feats that no American tennis player has ever come close to. Let’s dive in and find out.

Madison Keys creates history and how

On Saturday, January 25, Keys won lifted the Australian Open trophy by winning the match by 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, ending Sabalenka’s bid for a third consecutive AO crown. In the process, Keys achieved a remarkable milestone, becoming the first American to defeat both the World No. 1 (Sabalenka in the final) and World No. 2 (Iga Swiatek in the semifinal) at a Grand Slam event.

Overall, she is only the second player in history to accomplish this feat, following Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova, who defeated top-seeded Dinara Safina and second-seeded Serena Williams en route to her 2009 French Open victory. The stat was shared by Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) in a joint Instagram with United States Tennis Association (USTA) on Saturday.

What Keys said after her victory

Following her AO triumph, an emotional Keys voiced her thoughts and stated that she was prepared for the finals after a good night’s sleep, and all she wanted to do was to go out and play her best tennis. She added that she was proud of herself after that stupendous gameplay.

“I slept really well. I felt like I was a lot more prepared for this final having been in that one years ago so I felt like I kind of knew what to expect a little bit more today, but I really just had the goal today of just wanting to go out today and play the match how I wanted to play it and no matter when things got tight to keep going for it and play on my terms instead of getting passive,” she said.

“I just kept telling myself that if I do that, then no matter what win or lose, I’ll be proud of myself and that’s all that I could control, so I felt like I did a really good job today of that,” she added.

Following her victory, celebratory messages flooded in for Madison Keys, including a heartfelt note from iconic rapper Lil Wayne, which she later shared on her Instagram story.