US tennis player Madison Keys won her first Grand Slam title on Saturday, defeating two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the Australian Open final at Melbourne Park.
The 29-year-old American tennis player, who was ranked 14th and seeded 19th, won the match in three sets, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.
Celebrating her victory, Keys hugged her husband Bjorn Fratangelo, who has been her coach since 2023.
Long-awaited trophy for Keys
It is the first major title for Keys, and only her second Grand Slam final. Eight years ago, she came in second at the US Open after losing to Sloane Stephens.
Keys is the oldest woman to win a major for the first time since Flavia Pennetta at the 2015 US Open, when the latter was 33.
"I have wanted this for so long," said Keys, "and I have been in one other Grand Slam final, and it didn't go my way, and I didn't know if I was going to get back in this position."
Disappointment for Sabalenka
After the final, Belarusian defending champion Sabalenka threw away her racket in apparent frustration.
"Just wasn't my day," she said after the match.
Keys prevented Sabalenka from winning what would have been her third consecutive women's title at the Australian Open and her fourth major title overall.
The men's final of the Australian Open is on Sunday, pitting defending champion Jannik Sinner against Alexander Zverev.
Sinner eliminated American Ben Shelton in the semifinals, while Zverev advanced when 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia withdrew with an injury.
Source: DW
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