Elena Rybakina and Madison Keys are all set to light up Margaret Court Arena with their magical tennis in the fourth round of the 2025 AO! Both the players are in red-hot form at the moment. Keys has already clinched a title in the 2025 and she’s quite pumped up after defeating her compatriot Danielle Collins in her previous match. However, on the other hand, after her third-round win against Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, Rybakina revealed that her back injury is “not so good.” So, there has been a slight concern about her fitness levels ahead of this enticing encounter. Can the American take advantage of this situation and come up with a win against Rybakina?

Elena Rybakina vs Madison Keys: Preview

Elena Rybakins started the 2024 season with a title triumph in Brisbane. After that, she won two more titles in the previous season. The second one came at the Abu Dhabi Open and the third one came in Stuttgart. She made quite a few long runs last year. For example, Elena Rybakina reached the final of the Qatar Open but over there she was defeated by Iga Swiatek in two sets. After that, she also made it to the final at the Miami Open and in that epic final, she was beaten by her compatriot Danielle Collins by 5-7,3-6. However, she has been quite impressive in Melbourne so far. Elena Rybakina is yet to lose a set in this tournament! She defeated Yastremska by 6-3,6-3 in R3.

What’ll be the scoreline in her next match? Well, perhaps, this 29-year-old American can give this answer! Last year, Madison Keys won the Internationaux de Strasbourg. Apart from that she also reached the SF in Madrid and at Eastbourne International. However, Keys has started the 2025 season with a bang! She reached the QF of the ASB Classic a few weeks earlier and then after that, she clinched the title at the Adelaide International. In the final match, she defeated Jessica Pegula (USA) by 6-3,4-6,6-1. Keys is entering this contest following her dominating performance against Danielle Collins in the third round.

Rybakina vs Keys: Head-to-Head

Elena Rybakina and Madison Keys have faced each other four times so far in her career, but this meeting is going to be extremely special. Reason? Well, whoever wins this contest will take a lead in their H2H record, which is currently leveled at 2-2.

• 2024 Miami R16: Rybakina 6-3,7-5.
• 2022 Ostrava R32: Rybakina 5-7,6-3,6-3.
• 2022 Cincinnati QF: Keys 6-2,6-4.
• 2022 Roland Garros R32: Keys 3-6,6-1,7-6(3)

Prediction: Rybakina to win in three sets

So, Elena Rybakina has won their last two encounters. Is it the only factor that is keeping her slightly ahead in this epic battle? Well, the answer is no! Rybakina has a better record in this tournament. She reached the final of this tournament in 2023 and guess what? She had dropped just one set on her way to the final and Rybakina is yet to drop a set even this time as well. During that time, she also became the first female player to beat three former Grand Slam champions in a single edition of the AO since Jennifer Capriati in 2001.

On the other hand, Madison Keys’ best record in this tournament has been reaching the SF in 2015 and 2022! Apart from that if we look at their numbers from the last season as well, Elena Rybakina (7) had a win-loss record of 43-13. Madison Keys (14) recorded 24-12 in the last season. Although Keys has got off to a better start in 2025, we feel Rybakina’s game on this surface gives her an edge over Keys in this match.

Talking about their playing styles, Elena Rybakina is an aggressive baseliner. Her power-packed style of play is something that separates her from others on the Tour. She can generate effortless power in both her groundstrokes and serves. Elena Rybakina often tends to finish points quickly and her high-risk game often leads to an accumulation of both winners and a lot of unforced errors. She is a good mover on the court and her incredible height helps her to reach difficult balls pretty easily.

Madison Keys’ game style is based around her hard-hitting with big serves and powerful groundstrokes on both her forehand and backhand sides. She is basically an aggressive baseliner and Keys doesn’t go to the net too often. Instead, she likes to rely on her power to hit forehand and backhand winners to endpoints. Her biggest weakness is her inability to control her power at times and she often commits too many unforced errors while aiming for the winners.

Now, considering all these factors, we think Elena Rybankina might have the last laugh in their fifth encounter. However, having said that we expect some serious fight from the American in this mega battle!