Australian Open 2025 Review (Women’s): Clutch Keys wins title in style

Written by: Faizan Chaudhrey | January 31, 2025
keys australian open

The Women did not disappoint in Melbourne! A new grand slam champion in 29-year-old Madison Keys was crowned after an incredible run to the title. I break down the first grand slam of the year in detail and tell you my favourite matches. 

Keys unlocks her full potential 

Not many people picked Madison Keys to be victorious in Melbourne. I know a few people who picked her to make a deep run; even make the final but no-one was brave enough to pick her for the title. Keys had no such issue with bravery in this tournament! The American came into the tournament in great form after beating fellow American Jessica Pegula in straight sets in the Adelaide International tournament. However, as is all too often the case, smaller tournament success does not always translate to grand slam glory. Keys found the perfect formula to continue her red-hot form and combined it with an incredible mental resilience.

The American in the past had been the subject of criticism after several inconsistent years; this stemmed from her being a young prodigy and also making her last and only previous grand slam final 6 years ago. This tournament was different; Madison in the off season got married, changed her perspective on her career and applied less pressure on herself. Work put in off the court with a therapist and on court with equipment changes and technique; led to a complete overhaul in approach. These changes were for the better as she battled past a plethora of world class talent to the title. Her title winning run was one of the all-time best runs to win a maiden grand slam title: 

Round 1: Li 

Round 2: Ruse 

Round 3: Collins (Australian Open Finalist) 

Round 4: Rybakina (Grand Slam Champion) 

Quarter Final: Svitolina (Multiple Grand Slam Semi-Finalist) 

Semi Final: Swiatek (5-time grand slam champion) 

Final: Sabalenka (3-time grand slam champion) 

Keys saved match point vs number 2 seed Swiatek and kept her cool to take a final set tie breaker. She then came up clutch in the final as she lost the 2nd set to World Number 1 Sabalenka but then recovered to win the decider 7-5 in thrilling fashion. The question now is does Keys have a post grand slam winning cool off period or does she continue in this rich vein of form and compete for more big titles this year. She would be up there as one of the favourites for Wimbledon and the US Open if her level is sustained. 

Sabalenka’s Australian Open streak ends 

Sabalenka looked to make history and become the 6th women’s player in the Open Era to win 3 Australian Open titles consecutively. The Belarusian looked in fine form once again in Melbourne and was the clear favourite before the tournament. She backed this up by only dropping 1 set enroute to the final. Aryna’s level dipped in the 1st set of the final as she was blown away by Madison Keys; for the first time in a while Sabalenka was being overpowered at the back of the court. Aryna found her level in the 2nd set to take it to a decider and at this point I thought she would take over in the 3rd set. However, Keys was inspired in this tournament and was not to be denied; she broke at the end of the set to take the break, championship and Sabalenka’s crown.

Sabalenka showed initial frustration after the embrace at the net as she broke a racket in anger; there has been some criticism towards her for this action but people have to remember that it was an extremely close high-pressure match. What Aryna did after this was very mature, she realised she needed to release some of that frustration but did not want to take away from Keys so went to the locker room to cool off before coming back for the presentation. She was at her comedic best in the post-match interview. 

She seems to be in good spirits post final and post tournament so expect her to go into the clay court swing highly motivated. She is an underrated clay court player and do not be surprised if she challenges Iga at Roland Garros. 

Swiatek’s Best Australian Open Run? 

There have been a lot of questions around Iga Swiatek in the last few months. We found out she had failed a drugs test but had been cleared of any wrong doing and the media focus was intense for a while. The Polish star has managed the aftermath well and has seemingly been hard at work in the off season with new coach Wim Fissette. Iga’s draw was favourable at the Australian Open and she took advantage of it as you would expect; she dropped only 13 games before her semi-final with Madison Keys. Swiatek had a match point vs Keys but was unable to convert as she lost a thrilling final set tie breaker. Iga matched her previous best result at the Australian Open from 2022 when she lost to Danielle Collins in the semi-finals 6-4, 6-1.

This run at the Australian Open felt different; the field in my opinion this year was stronger than in 2022 and that was highlighted in her level. Work with Wim Fissette seems to have paid off in the off season; he has got Iga to shorten her forehand backswing and take the ball early, this has combatted her issues on the forehand when on fast hard courts. We have also seen an updated serve technique which seems to have given her more pop on the 1st serve. Given she had a match point against the eventual champion; Iga can take some big positives from this tournament. 

swiatek

Other Notable Storylines 

Paula Badosa made her first grand slam semi-final; eventually losing to close friend Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka joked that she would take Badosa shopping after defeating her and Badosa replied that it needed to be “something very expensive”. Jokes aside, Paula’s level was arguably the best it has been in her career; with her body holding up well since the back end of last year and a clear matured mentality, she will be a real force to be reckoned with in 2025. The big question will be can she push to win a Grand Slam or is her ceiling semi-finalist/finalist? 

Eva Lys 

23-year-old Eva Lys lost in the final round of qualification to Australian hopeful Destanee Aiva. The German was part of the lucky loser list and had booked her flight home for the next day when she got notified that Anna Kalinskaya had pulled out 5 minutes before her scheduled match. Eva was luckily on the practice courts and took Anna’s place. She ended up beating Kim Birrell in the 1st round and extended her run to the 4th round where she ran into the formidable Iga Swiatek. Despite losing 6-0, 6-1, the German still played with a smile on her face and clearly has a love for the sport. It was a real feel-good story; Lys had not made it past the 2nd round of a grand slam before this Australian Open. 

Belinda Bencic 

The Swiss Olympic Gold medallist returned to action after having a baby at the back end of last year and admirably grafted away on the challenger circuit to sharpen her game and shake off some rust. This approach seems to have paid off. Belinda beat Ostapenko, Lamens and Osaka (retired) to eventually lose to Coco Gauff in the 4th round. She managed to take a set off of the American and showcased a solid level throughout this tournament. I am constantly in awe of mothers coming back on to tour and playing at the highest level.  

Best matches of the tournament 

These were my top 5 matches and have been picked by myself and are purely my opinion! 

  1. Keys vs Swiatek 
  1. Keys vs Sabalenka 
  1. Navarro vs Kasatkina 
  1. Vekic vs Shnaider 
  1. Keys vs Rybakina 

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Faizan Chaudhrey

Faizan is a tennis fan that writes on Tennisnerd about players, tournament previews and other analysis topics of the ATP and WTA tour.