The 2025 majors season has officially begun with the Australian Open! This tournament included thrilling matches, shocking upsets and finally some American champions. In the lull of exciting sporting events (minus the NFL conference championships, I guess), the Australian Open served as the perfect source of entertainment. 

The overwhelming favorite on the women’s side was #1 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who has been having an incredible comeback after her shoulder injury last year. She had finished last year by winning the US Open and won the Brisbane International tournament coming into the Australian Open. However, second and third seeds Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff were also expected to be strong contenders. What shocked the tennis world was 19th seed Madison Keys’ run; the 29-year-old American had yet to win a major, and though she usually performs quite well, she rarely gets to semi-finals or final matches. 

This year was different. After an easy first two rounds, she beat fellow American and 10th seed Danielle Collins in the third round in a shocking sweep, 6-4, 6-4. She then went on to beat 6th seed Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina, both in straight sets, to get to the semi-final. She faced Swiatek, a match she was expected to lose, but she only lost the first set 5-7; after that, she won the next two, 6-1 and 7(10)-6(8). In the finals, her matchup was even more daunting, as Sabalenka had enjoyed a fantastic run on her way to what would’ve been her third championship in a row. However, Keys had other plans — she managed to upset her opponent 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 to become the 2025 Australian Open champion. 

Keys had previously made the semi-finals in Australia as a 19-year-old exactly 10 years ago, but had not gone as far in the tournament since. This year, though, she could not be stopped. After her win, she said tearfully: “I have wanted this for so long … I have been in one other grand slam final and it did not go my way, and I didn’t know if I was ever going to be able to get back to this position … and my team believed in me every step of the way, so thank you so much.”