Generational Rivalry: Jannik Sinner wins first 2026 clash with Carlos Alcaraz in Monte Carlo for biggest career clay title

Madison Keys had to run the gauntlet just to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open, battling past three current or former Top 10 players—Danielle Collins, Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina—in the third round, fourth round and quarterfinals.

It got even tougher from there—but Keys got going, pulling off nail-biting wins over the Top 2-ranked players in the world. First, she rallied from match point down, at 6-5 in the third set, for a over world No. 2 Iga Swiatek.

Then, she showed her best tennis at the most pressure-packed moments in her 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 defeat of world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

This was Madison Keys' first Grand Slam title, and she certainly earned it.

Advertising

With those two wins, Keys did something no woman had done in 20 years: beat the Top 2 en route to the Australian Open title.

The last woman to achieve the feat before Keys was Serena Williams, in 2005. She defeated No. 2 Amelie Mauresmo in the quarterfinals and No. 1 Lindsay Davenport in the final.

The last woman to do it at any Grand Slam event was Svetlana Kuznetsova, at Roland Garros in 2009, when she beat No. 2 Serena in the quarterfinals and No. 1 Dinara Safina in the final.

Keys scored back-to-back wins over the world's Top 2 players, defeating No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals before stunning Sabalenka in a two-hour championship clash.

Advertising

Keys is the 10th woman to take out both No. 1 and No. 2 on the WTA rankings at any major, since official tour rankings began in 1975.

WOMEN TO BEAT TOP 2 EN ROUTE TO A GRAND SLAM TITLE

Tracy Austin [1979 US Open]
Hana Mandlikova [1985 US Open]
Steffi Graf [1999 Roland Garros]
Serena Williams [1999 US Open, 2002 Roland Garros, 2005 Australian Open]
Venus Williams [2000 Wimbledon, 2000 US Open, 2005 Wimbledon]
Jennifer Capriati [2001 Australian Open]
Justine Henin [2003 Roland Garros]
Maria Sharapova [2006 US Open]
Svetlana Kuznetsova [2009 Roland Garros]
Madison Keys [2025 Australian Open]

Advertising