Aryna Sabalenka was always the favourite to reach the final at Australian Open 2025, but it is a different story for Madison Keys.

Perhaps we were wrong not to consider her as a candidate.

While Keys had not reached an AO final, she had made two semifinals, in 2015 and 2022, and lost to eventual champions Serena Williams and Ash Barty respectively.

She also had plenty of experience, coming into the tournament with 109 major match wins – more than any other player in the women’s draw. Since the start of 2015, only Williams (15) and Sabalenka (10) have reached more major semifinals than the American (seven).

Before AO 2025, her last such semifinal appearance came at the US Open in 2023, when she faced Sabalenka. Keys won the first set 6-0 and served for the match at 5-4 in the second; Sabalenka needed two tiebreaks to turn the match around.

Keys has made the final of AO 2025 the hard way, too, battling back from a set down to defeat Iga Swiatek in the semifinal and doing the same against Elina Svitolina in the last eight. Keys overcame sixth seed and former AO finalist Elena Rybakina in the last 16, after beating another AO runner-up, 10th seed Danielle Collins, in the round of 32.

MORE: Australian Open 2025 women’s singles draw

The US Open 2017 runner-up, Keys is the first woman seeded 19th to reach a Grand Slam final in the Open era. In the process, she equalled AO 2018 champion Caroline Wozniacki as the player with the most appearances at the AO (11) before reaching her first final.