Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka will battle American 19th seed Madison Keys in the final on Saturday looking to become the first woman since Martina Hingis from 1997-99 to win the Australian Open title three times in a row. Victory on Saturday would see the world No 1 become the sixth woman to win three straight Australian Open titles, joining Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, and Hingis. It’s a feat that has not been achieved in 25 years.
At the other end of the spectrum is 29-year-old Keys, looking for that elusive first Major. Despite an impressive start to 2025, few would have expected Keys to get this far but the 29-year-old is a worthy finalist having beaten world No 2 Iga Swiatek in the last four. Swiatek was the third top 10 seed to lose to Keys after the American defeated sixth seed Elena Rybakina in the last 16 and 10th seed Danielle Collins in the third round. Keys lost to compatriot Sloane Stephens in her only previous trip to a Grand Slam final at the 2017 U.S. Open
Aryna Sabalenka celebrates with the championship trophy after her match against Jessica Pegula (USA) (not pictured) in the women’s singles final of the 2024 U.S. Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Reuters/ Mike Frey-Imagn Images
Head-to-head
Sabalenka has won in four of the previous five previous meetings against Keys. Two of those clashes came at the Grand Slam level, with Sabalenka prevailing at the US Open semifinal as well as the Wimbledon quarterfinal in 2023. The US Open semifinal defeat was particularly tough on Keys, as she lost the match after blanking Sabalenka 0-6 in the first set. Keys’ solitary win against Sabalenka came in Berlin in 2021, a three-set victory.
When and where to watch Australian Open women’s singles final
The final will start at 2 pm IST and will be broadcast on the Sony Sports Network and streamed on Sony LIV in India.
Key stats via Opta
– With 8 years separating her 2 Grand Slam finals, Keys is the player with the longest gap between their first two title clashes at a Major in the Open Era. The previous record of 7 years was held by Amelie Mauresmo.
– It’s taken 11 attempts in the main draw for Keys to reach her first final at Australia Open. It equals the record held by Caroline Wozniacki.
Madison Keys of the U.S. celebrates after defeating Iga Swiatek of Poland in their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, early Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
– At 29, Keys is the oldest women’s singles finalist at the Australian Open since Serena and Venus Williams in 2017.
– Having won the titles last two years, Sabalenka’s win streak at Aus Open is now at 20. She is the third player in the last 10 years to win 20+ consecutive matches in women’s singles at a Major after Serena Williams (US Open and Wimbledon) and Iga Swiatek (French Open).
– Sabalenka is only the eighth player in the Open Era to reach three consecutive women’s singles finals at the Australian Open.
Who’s saying what
Sabalenka: “It’s crazy that I’m in a situation where I have a chance to put my name next to legends,” said Sabalenka, who is also bidding for her fourth Grand Slam title after winning the 2024 U.S. Open. “I couldn’t dream about that. It’s going to mean a lot. I just feel at home. Last year I thought, ‘Okay, I feel at home, I feel so good here, I feel all the support’. This year I feel it even more. It feels like coming home to my home Slam.”
Keys: “I’ve done a lot of work trying to NOT get rid of nerves, because I think in the past, in my head, it was kind of always, ‘The people who play amazing in the tight moments, they either don’t have nerves or they figure out how to get rid of them.’ The big thing for me has just been knowing that there are going to be a lot of moments where I’m uncomfortable in the match. It’s going to be stressful. You have thousands of people watching you. You might not be playing your best tennis. But instead of trying to shy away from that and search for settling or comfort or anything, just being OK that that’s the situation — and you can also play tennis through that — is something that I’ve been working really hard on.”
With agency inputs
