Big upset at the Australian Open! No. 19 seed Keys defeats the "Big Three" one after another, claiming her first Grand Slam title!
On the afternoon of January 25, Beijing time, the women's singles final of the 2025 Australian Open kicked off with intense excitement at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park. The match featured world No. 1 and top-seeded defending champion Sabalenka against the tournament's No. 19 seed, Keys.
From the very start of the match, Keys showcased exceptional form, breaking Sabalenka's serve in the first game of the set and then holding her own service games to take a dreamy 2-0 lead. After that, both players held their serves until the fifth game, when Keys seized a crucial point—Sabalenka committed a costly double fault and also missed an opportunity at the break point, handing Keys another break and extending her advantage to 4-1. Ultimately, Keys clinched the opening set 6-3 after converting three break points.
However, as the world No. 1, Sabalenka is far from an easy opponent—she quickly adjusted her game in the second set. After splitting the first two games 1-1, Sabalenka broke her opponent's serve in the third game, followed by holding her own service game. She then broke again and held her own serve once more, surging ahead to take a commanding 5-1 lead over Keys. Later, Sabalenka effortlessly closed out the set with her own serve, leveling the match at 6-2 and forcing the contest into a deciding third set.
The battle in the deciding set intensified as both players locked into a fierce struggle. In the first ten games, each managed to hold their serve, leaving the score tied at 5-5. Just when it seemed the match might head into a lengthy tiebreaker, Keys suddenly stepped up her game, winning two consecutive games to clinch the set 7-5.
Case pulled off a stunning upset to defeat Sabalenka, clinching her first-ever Grand Slam title. In that electrifying moment, Case dropped to her knees in celebration, tears streaming down her face as years of hard work and unwavering determination finally paid off—yielding the sweetest reward of all.
This victory is truly remarkable—thanks to it, Keys climbed from No. 21 in the world rankings before the tournament to No. 7, tying her personal career-high. Looking back at Keys’s journey to the title, it was nothing short of legendary. At this year’s Australian Open, she stunned the tennis world by defeating none other than World No. 2 Swiatek, followed by World No. 1 Sabalenka and then Liudmila Samsonova, making her championship one of the most prestigious in recent memory.
The 29-year-old American star became the fourth-oldest player in the Open Era to win her first Grand Slam singles title. She finally achieved her lifelong dream on her 46th Grand Slam main-draw appearance—only two other women in the Open Era, Pennetta (49 appearances) and Bartoli (47), have competed more times before claiming their maiden major championship.
