Madison Keys Rewrites Her Career With Australian Open Triumph

The 29-year-old American won her first major by upsetting world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka Down Under, and may have cemented her legacy in the process.
Keys won her first major by taking down four top-10 opponents in Australia.
Keys won her first major by taking down four top-10 opponents in Australia. / IMAGO/PsnewZ

For all of tennis' virtues, this might be a chief one: A player can completely redefine themselves in the course of one event, Madison Keys didn't so much win the 2025 Australian Open women's singles final today as she pounded it. The 29-year-old American beat top seed Aryna Sabalanka in a thumping, thunderbolt-throwing final. In so doing, she thwarted Sabalenka's attempt to win a third straight title Down Under. More importantly, in so doing, Keys completely rewrote her career.

Keys was a highly touted junior from the Quad Cities, the cluster of towns in Iowa and Illinois alongside the Mississippi River. A pro for almost 15 years, she is well-regarded and well-respected, but her results tended to fall into close-but-not-quite. She reached one final more than seven years ago, and admitted she was beset by pressure, losing the U.S. Open to Sloane Stevens. Since then, she's resided in the top 10, but has often been undone by injuries, pressure and results that haven't quite kept pace with her pure power and clean ball-striking.

Now, however, she is suddenly a major champion and perhaps even a player destined for the Hall of Fame. That is what one sensational tournament can do.

Keys arrived in Australia recently married and also having recently won a tournament. And at the first major of the year, her level only seemed to improve match by match. It's not so much that she won the title, but how, along the way, she beat four top-10 players. In the semifinals, she outlasted five-time major champion Iga Światek of Poland in a decisive tiebreaker that may well have been the biggest win of her career. But the honor only held for 48 hours. because Saturday night, she brought her best to beat the best and took down Sabalenka in a tight three-setter.

As the outpouring of support from other players suggests, Keys is loved and well-regarded, often preaching a message of kindness. That makes for a well-adjusted and well-liked human being. But those sensibilities don't always make for an elite athlete. As Keys readily admits in the past, pressure has gotten to her. She is, after all, only human. But tonight, she blocked it all out. She also blocked Sabalenka's power. Plenty will be made of the hard hitting in this match, and it should be. But Keys also won with defense and athleticism, forcing Sabalenka to hit extra shots, many of them resulting in errors.

After the match, Keys predictably broke down in tears. But these were tears of joy. And Lord knows, they were well-deserved. And suddenly, America has a new major champion, and tennis has a new, older star back among the contenders.


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Jon Wertheim
JON WERTHEIM

Jon Wertheim is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and has been part of the full-time SI writing staff since 1997, largely focusing on the tennis beat , sports business and social issues, and enterprise journalism. In addition to his work at SI, he is a correspondent for "60 Minutes" and a commentator for The Tennis Channel. He has authored 11 books and has been honored with two Emmys, numerous writing and investigative journalism awards, and the Eugene Scott Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Wertheim is a longtime member of the New York Bar Association (retired), the International Tennis Writers Association and the Writers Guild of America. He has a bachelor's in history from Yale University and received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in New York City with his wife, who is a divorce mediator and adjunct law professor. They have two children.