Madison Keys has officially written her name in the stars at the Australian Open! The American powerhouse battled her way through the draw, overcoming giants like Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, to claim her first-ever Grand Slam title. It’s a story of resilience, grit, and sheer brilliance—one that’s left the tennis world in awe. But the magic didn’t stop on the court. The buzz surrounding Keys’ monumental achievement has even caught the attention of tennis great, Serena Williams. Always one to inspire and uplift, Serena took a moment to not just celebrate Keys’ victory but also weave in a powerful life lesson.

The American tennis sensation engaged in a thrilling match against Aryna Sabalenka in the finals. She started on a dominant note and emerged victorious in the first set. However, the Belarusian powerhouse did not fail to push Keys to her limits and won the second set sensationally. But true to herself, Keys depicted immense resilience, stayed calm and composed, and bounced back in the decider set to eventually win the match 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. Now, Williams is not stepping away to laud her skills and efforts with a strong message for her. 

The 43-year-old took to her Instagram handle to share a video of herself as she promoted her brand WYN. She was seen doing some make-up in the video, and captioned it, “Don’t forget to invest in yourself.” In the video, Williams highlighted how Keys invested in herself effectively which led her to her recent success. “I was just thinking about the importance of investing. A lot of people think ‘oh investing is about you have to invest in big companies.’ Investing in big companies is great, but also investing in yourself is really, really cool and important,” Williams said. Continuing further she lauded Keys’ grit and determination. 

“We just saw Madison Keys, congrats to her, winning the Australian Open today. She invested in herself. She invested in her career, invested time into tennis, into being the best that she can be and today she proved she is the best in the world by winning the Australian Open,” the 23-time Grand Slam champion reflected. Notably, Keys and Williams have faced each other thrice on the courts with Serena winning all the encounters. But that has not stopped her from lauding Keys in the past as well. 

After defeating a young Madison Keys in 2015, Williams made a remarkable prediction about her future. “I think she can be the best in the world. The way she played today I definitely think she has potential to be No. 1 and win Grand Slams,” Williams had said. And now, Keys has lived up to the predictions. The latest praise from Williams, meanwhile, is a true example of women supporting women – an idea that has been often promoted by the tennis great. 

Remember, in October last year, Williams took to her X and shared a unique message. “The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should raise each other up,” the message read and now Williams is living up to that. However, Serena Williams is not the only person who has lauded Keys in such a manner. Sabalenka too went all-out praising for her opponent – even placing her ahead of Williams in a remarkable feat.

Aryna Sabalenka picks Madison Keys over Serena Williams

Defeating a World No.1 in a Grand Slam final is no easy task but Madison Keys did exactly that at the Australian Open. Interestingly, even Aryna Sabalenka was all praises for her formidable opponent despite losing the crucial match to her. The Belarusian star was quizzed in the post-match interview if she considered the American’s ball striking to be the most powerful she’d encountered. Wondering about the contenders? Well that included opponents she had previously played, like Serena Williams and Elena Rybakina.

Speaking to the press, Sabalenka said, “Today, yes, today was very fast, very deep, very aggressive. And yeah, there was a great level from her. As I said, if she can continue playing the way she was playing today, yeah, she can be in the top five.” And indeed! Keys’ first serve average reached up to 174 Km/h in the match with the fastest serve shot being recorded at 189 Km/h. 

Now, as she progresses further, it will be interesting to see how the season unfolds and if Keys manages to add more accolades under her belt. one thing is for sure: the stars are aligning for the gritty American!