The tennis world had great expectations from Keys at the start of her career, but she failed to deliver, until now. She began playing at a young age and went pro on her 14th birthday, where she won her first WTA match at the Ponte Vedra Beach Championships. This made Keys the youngest player to do so since tennis legend Martina Navratilova. But moving forward, she was unable to produce grand results.

The American was denied Grand Slam victory in her homeland twice. First, in the 2017 Open, Keys lost in the final to Sloane Stephens in a brutal 6-3 6-0 loss. Then, in the 2023 US Open Semifinal, Sabalenka beat Keys despite the match being a set and a breakup. Keys regretted playing “too safe”.

The gap between her first and second major finals is a little over seven years, becoming the longest gap in the Women’s Open games. Keys won the title by defeating top-seeded players such as Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina, Danielle Collins, and Iga Swiatek, an achievement resulting from years of dedication and hard work, not just luck.

In the finals, Madison Keys dominated the first set, taking control with powerful groundstrokes and a near-perfect serve. Keeping Sabalenka on the back foot, she hit 11 winners. She then managed to break Sabalenka’s serve twice, as World No. 1 gave away two double faults. Sabalenka struggled to find her rhythm, and the set ended 6-3 in Keys’ favor.

In the second set, Sabalenka bounced back by improving her serve and finding more consistency. Sabalenka aggressively took advantage as Keys struggled with her first serve, winning 6-2. Although Sabalenka gained momentum after the second set, Keys broke Sabalenka in the 12th game, finishing with a great cross-court forehand winner. The match ended 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 with Keys securing her first-ever Grand Slam title. 

According to Opta Ace on X, the American joins the elite club of players who are the oldest to defeat the WTA #1 and #2 in both the Grand Slam semifinal and final since the stats were first published in 1975. This Grand Slam victory marks several milestones for Keys, as she joins legendary players like Serena Williams and Justine Henin as one of the oldest players to achieve this milestone. She also surpassed Venus Williams, who accomplished this achievement at the age of 25 during the 2005 Wimbledon.

Keys has now won her first Grand Slam title at 29 years old. There are only three women older than her to do so. She is the fourth player this decade to beat the World No. 1 and No. 2 in the same tournament, following Elena Rybakina at Indian Wells 2023. Keys is also the first player to beat the World No. 1 and No. 2 consecutively in the final two rounds of the slam, following Venus Williams in Wimbledon 2005. She is currently ranked No. 14. With this win, Keys will return to No. 7, her career-high ranking when the PIF WTA Rankings are updated on Monday. 

Madison Keys is grateful to her husband and team

With these milestones, Keys has established herself as a top, elite player. Following her victory, she shared an emotional hug with her husband and coach, Bjorn Fratangelo.

In her on-court interview, Keys said, “I have wanted this for so long and I have been in one other grand slam final. It did not go my way and I didn’t know if I was ever going to be able to get back to this position to try to win a trophy again,” Keys got emotional as her voice cracked and added, “And my team believed in me every step of the way so thank you so much.” 

Keys did not attend her last year’s Australian Open due to injuries, she added, “Last year was so tough with some really bad injuries and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do it again and to be here and to have this trophy and to also be able to do it with my husband who is kind of dazed and confused over there, I love you all so much and I cannot wait for more.”

Remembering her loss in the 2023 US Open Semifinal against Sabalenka, Keys joked, “I’m glad I’ve got you back.” At 29, just 22 days away from her 30th birthday, Keys has shown incredible potential, leaving the tennis world waiting for her next Grand Slam performance.