Aryna Sabalenka states what Madison Keys has done against her which no other WTA player has ahead of Australian Open final
Aryna Sabalenka states what Madison Keys has done against her which no other WTA player has ahead of Australian Open final
Aryna Sabalenka says Madison Keys can do to her on court that other players cannot manage.
The Belarusian is now just one win away from becoming the first woman since Martina Hingis in 1999 to win the Australian Open for three consecutive years.
On Thursday Sabalenka defeated her friend and rival Paula Badosa 6-4 6-2 to book her spot in Saturday’s championship match.
Sabalenka has won 20 straight matches at Melbourne Park and standing in her way of a 21st is Madison Keys, who is searching for her first Grand Slam title.
What did Aryna Sabalenka say about Madison Keys’ game ahead of the Australian Open final?
Aryna Sabalenka will face her third different opponent in the Australian Open final.
In 2023 she defeated Elena Rybakina to win her first title and successfully defended it against Qinwen Zheng a year later.
In 2025 Keys will stand across the net from Sabalenka, a player she has beaten four times in five meetings.
But Keys is full of confidence after coming from behind to beat Iga Swiatek in three sets to reach the final, and her firepower can certainly cause Sabalenka problems.
In her press conference after beating Badosa, Sabalenka admitted Keys is the only player that has been able to overwhelm her with power, as she referenced their epic 2023 US Open semifinal. “Yeah, I mean, yeah,” Sabalenka chuckled. “She just, like, was over-hitting it, and everything was going in.”
Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus celebrates winning the Women’s Singles Semifinal against Paula Badosa (not seen) of Spain during day 12 of the 2025 Au…
The 2025 Australian Open final with Sabalenka and Keys’ biggest matchup, but this is not their first meeting in a Grand Slam.
They faced one another at majors on two occasions in 2023. Sabalenka won their Wimbledon meeting, before she escaped with victory in the semi-finals of that year’s US Open.
Keys held a 6-0, 5-4 lead and served for the match, but she squandered the opportunity and would go on to lose the match 6-0, 6-7(1), 6-7(5).
In Melbourne, Sabalenka was asked about the contest in New York, as she recalled how much pressure Keys put her under before she was able to complete a comeback.
“Yeah, I was under so much pressure.
It felt like she was just going for her shots, and everything was going in. She was just crushing it,” Sabalenka said.
“I think at some moments she was just, like, start questioning herself. I saw that and I felt like, Okay, now is the moment to make sure that you put as many balls back as you can. I think that was the crucial moment. I just turn around things.
“But yeah, she played incredible, aggressive tennis in that semis. Also US Open quarter, a little bit faster than here. So I think the conditions suit her really well there.”
