Keys Faces Sabalenka in Australian Open Final After Stunning Semifinal Win

MELBOURNE, Australia — Madison Keys stunned the tennis world Friday with a dramatic semifinal victory over Iga Świątek at the Australian Open, setting up a championship clash against Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday. The 29-year-old American saved a match point and triumphed in a nerve-wracking super tie-break to secure her second career Grand Slam final appearance.

Keys, currently on an 11-match winning streak, will face world No. 1 Sabalenka, who is aiming to become the first woman in 26 years to win three consecutive Australian Open titles. The final is scheduled for 3:30 a.m. ET in Melbourne.

“I’m still trying to come down and figure out where I am,” Keys told reporters after her two-and-a-half-hour victory over Świątek, a five-time Grand Slam champion. The win marked one of the biggest achievements of Keys’ career, as she had only beaten Świątek once before.

Sabalenka, who defeated Spain’s Paula Badosa in the semifinals, is seeking her fourth Grand Slam title. The Belarusian has dominated the Australian Open in recent years, dropping just one set en route to the final. Only Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf, and Martina Hingis have achieved a three-peat in the women’s singles at the tournament, with Hingis being the last to do so in 1999.

“For her to be at this point, she’s doing a lot of things right,” Graf said of Sabalenka earlier this week. “It’s like putting all the puzzle pieces together. The body and mind being ready for it. And she seems like she’s been doing a great job at it.”

Keys, the 19th seed, enters the final on the best winning streak of her career, having claimed her ninth WTA title in Adelaide earlier this year. Her only previous Grand Slam final appearance ended in a straight-sets loss to Sloane Stephens at the 2017 US Open. However, Keys emphasized that her mindset has evolved significantly since then.

“During that match, I was so consumed with being nervous and the moment, the opportunity and all of that, I never really gave myself a chance to actually play,” Keys said. “The big thing for me has just been knowing that there are going to be a lot of moments where I’m uncomfortable in the match.”

Keys praised Sabalenka’s fearless approach to the game, particularly her ability to maintain aggression under pressure. “What’s really impressive is her mentality and her ability to always go for it, no matter what the score is,” Keys said. “I really wanted to try to be better at not playing more passive in big points.”

The two players last met in the semifinals of the 2023 US Open, where Sabalenka rallied from a set down to defeat Keys in a deciding tie-break. “Magically, I was able to turn it around,” Sabalenka recalled after that match. She will need to summon similar resilience to secure her third consecutive Australian Open title.

Saturday’s final promises to be a clash of power hitters, with both players known for their aggressive baseline play. For Keys, it’s an opportunity to claim her first Grand Slam title, while Sabalenka aims to cement her place in tennis history.