The first Grand Slam final of 2025 has already given us a huge surprise. Aryan Sabalenka, World No. 1 and winner of the last two editions of the Australian Open, has failed to make a hat-trick and lost to Madison Keys, who before this final was ranked 19th in WTA ranking (she is seventh now), and had never won a major before.
Keys, who turns 30 next month, became one of the youngest players ever in winning an WTA Tour level match aged 14. However, her career has been a rollercoaster, having a highest ever ranking at no. 7 in 2016 (same ranking she has now), but dropping out of the top 50 due to injuries.
Today, in her second Grand Slam final (the first one was US Open 2017, where she lost to Sloane Stephens), Keys has won Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. It hasn't been an easy path, as previously Keys had to defeat World No. 2 Iga Swiatek.
The result was perhaps unexpected: in her five previous encounters, Sabalenka had won four, including a heartbraking 0-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(5) in the 2023 US Open semifinals. Keys' victory proves that it's never too late to try: according to WTA Tour, Keys has become the fourth oldest first-time Slam champion in the Open Era, and the longest gap between first two Slam finals (2017 to 2025).
"There definitely was a bit of frustration because I was so close to achieve something crazy", said Sabalenka, after embracing Keys, let her frustrations out smashing the racket. She later told that "That's definitely really tough. I was standing there and just was like, 'OK, c'mon, you've been in her position. She deserves that. She was the better player than you".