Ten years after breaking through to the Australian Open semifinals as a 19-year-old, Madison Keys finally won her first Grand Slam title in Melbourne.

After upsetting No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek in the semifinals, No. 19 Keys beat two-time defending champion and No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 to earn that elusive first major. Keys, who turns 30 next month, was playing in her 46th career Grand Slam.

The victory for the 29-year-old from Orlando, Fla.,snapped a 20-match winning streak for Sabalenka in Melbourne. Sabalenka leads the all-time head-to-head 4-2.

“Firstly, Aryna, unbelievable playing,” Keys said. “I’m glad I finally got you back.”

Keys had lost her only other Grand Slam final, to fellow American Sloane Stephens at the U.S. Open in 2017. She will take home $2.2 million with the title, while Sabalenka receives $1.2 million.

“I have wanted this for so long,” Keys said as she held the trophy and began to cry. “I have been in one other Grand Slam final, it did not go my way and I didn’t know if I was ever going to get back to this position to try to win a trophy again. And my team believed in me every step of the way so thank you so much.”

Keys improved to 5-0 this year against Top 10 players after going 2-5 in 2024. Her 12-match winning streak is the longest of her career.

Keys also beat No. 6 Elena Rybakina, a former Wimbledon champion, and No. 28 Elina Svitolina, a three-time major semifinalist, en route to the title.

In the end, Keys won 92 points to Sabalenka’s 91.

Serving at 5-all, 30-all in the third, Keys rose to the occasion and hit back-to-back forehand winners up the line to seize the game for a 6-5 lead.

“I think we did our best, just Madison was playing incredible, I really couldn’t do anything in this match,” Sabalenka said with a smile. “And next time I play against Madison, I’ll bring better tennis.”

Serving to stay in the match at 5-6, Sabalenka then got down 0-30 and then 15-40 when she hit a forehand into the net.

Sabalenka saved one match with a service winner up the T.

On the second match point, Keys ended with an inside-out forehand for her first major. The two women then embraced at the net.

Sabalenka then smashed her racquet as she went to her chair and then hung a white towel over her head as Keys embraced her husband and coach, Bjorn Fratangelo, and her team.

“There’s tears on both sides for very different reasons,” ESPN’s Mary Joe Fernandez said on air.

Keys dominated on her serve in the first set, serving 86% on first serves, allowing her to take a one-set lead.

But her level dipped to 59% in the second set, while Sabalenka’s service percentage increased to 83 from 64 from the first to the second.

But Keys upped her level and had six strong service games in the decisive third set.

“Thank you to everyone who came out and cheered the last two weeks,” Keys said. “I always feel so at home here. I made my very first Grand Slam semifinal here in Melbourne, so to now have won my first Grand Slam in the same place means the absolute world to me, and I’m so thankful to all of you who come out and cheer every single tournament and every single time we play here in Melbourne.”

Keys, a former world No. 7, will return to the top 10 on Monday. The WTA Top 10 will have four players from the USA: No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 6 Jessica Pegula, No. 7 Keys and No. 9 Emma Navarro.

Keys was playing in her third Australian Open semifinal after losing the previous two to world No. 1s — Serena Williams in 2015 and Ash Barty in 2022 — both times as an unseeded player.

“Madison, what a tournament,” Sabalenka said. “You’ve been fighting really hard to get this trophy. You played unbelievable tennis. You crashed this tonight, congrats you and your team. Really well deserved, and enjoy the celebration, enjoy the really fun part.”