Madison Keys won her first career Grand Slam title at the 2025 Australian Open. The American, a longtime WTA tour veteran, defeated the two top favorites for the title, Iga Światek (semifinal) and Aryna Sabalenka (final), thus becoming the deserved winner of the first Grand Slam tournament of the new year. In the men's event, just like last year, Jannik Sinner emerged victorious. The Italian, world number one, faced German Alexander Zverev in the final and won convincingly in three sets.
Many surprises in the first round
It quickly became clear that the 2025 Australian Open could be a tournament of surprises. Many names who normally make it deep into the tournament were eliminated in the first round. Stefanos Tsitsipas lost to Alex Michelsen, Andrey Rublev was convincingly defeated by Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca (3-0), and Australian – and therefore home favorite – Alexei Popyrin was surprisingly eliminated by Corentin Moutet. Grigor Dimitrov was forced to retire against Italian Francesco Passaro, and with Nick Kyrgios, Australia lost another trump card in the first round. Kyrgios, just back from a long, lingering injury, proved no match for Jacob Fearnly.
Quick end of story for the Dutch
For three of the four Dutch participants in the 2025 Australian Open, the tournament ended after just one round. The draw wasn't very favorable. Tallon Griekspoor faced Hubert Hurkacz, who didn't concede a set to our compatriot. Botic van de Zandschulp also faced a quick end after world number eight Alex de Minaur defeated him in three sets. In the women's event, Arantxa Rus lost to Olga Danilovic, but thanks to Suzan Lamens, there was still Dutch success. The 25-year-old Lamens won her first-round match against Veronika Erjavec and thus qualified for the second round against Belinda Bencic. The Swiss proved too strong for Lamens, winning 6-1, 7-6.
Siegemund pulls a stunt against Zheng
After the men's first round saw one big name after another fall, the second round was no different. Miomir Kecmanovic defeated Hurkacz, Aleksandar Vukic defeated Sebastian Korda in a five-setter, and Daniil Medvedev was surprisingly eliminated by American talent Learner Tien. The women's tournament held off any major upsets until Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng faced Germany's Laura Siegemund. Siegemund's chances were considered slim beforehand, but she still managed to knock the fifth-seeded Chinese player out of the tournament.
A round later, the curtain also fell for Jasmine Paolini and Jessica Pegula. The former, who had reached the finals of both Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year, was defeated by Elina Svitolina, while Pegula was no match for Danilovic. Incidentally, Svitolina's boyfriend, Gaël Monfils, also had reason to celebrate. He showed he still possessed enough quality to defeat fourth-seeded American Taylor Fritz and reach the round of 16. Unfortunately for Monfils, he had to retire in that round of 16, in which he played Ben Shelton.
Djokovic and Alcaraz meet early
There were no major upsets in the round of 16, allowing the tournament to steadily progress towards the quarterfinals. The Melbourne crowd was in for a thrilling battle of the titans, as Novak Djokovic faced none other than Carlos Alcaraz in this stage of the Australian Open. Victory in this match went to the Serb, who defeated his Spanish counterpart 3-1. Sinner (against de Minaur), Alexander Zverev (against Tommy Paul), and Shelton (against Lorenzo Sonego) also won their quarterfinal matches, thus establishing the semifinalists in the men's tournament. In the women's tournament, these were Sabalenka, Swiatek, Keys, and Paula Badosa, who won her quarterfinal match against Coco Gauff.
The semifinals, with Djokovic vs. Zverev, were another exciting match, but the Serbian record champion had to retire after just one set due to injury. On the other side of the draw, Sinner had some initial problems against Shelton, but once he got going, he was never in trouble again (3-0 in sets). In the women's event, it was Keys who pulled off a surprise by sending Swiatek home after a real thriller. The Polish player did win the first set, but after Keys took the second (6-1) and survived a match point, she ultimately prevailed in the match tiebreak (10-8). This meant she had to face Sabalenka in the final of the 2025 Australian Open, who, in turn, left Badosa without a chance in the semifinals.
Australian Open titles for Sinner and Keys
The men's final of the 2025 Australian Open was between Sinner and Zverev. While Sinner won the tournament last year, it was Zverev's first time reaching the final in Melbourne. Two breaks throughout the match were enough for the Italian to lift the trophy again this year: he triumphed 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. In the women's event, defending champion Sabalenka faced Keys, who had never won a Grand Slam before. However, she changed that in Australia. Keys, who had already achieved impressive victories over Danielle Collins, Elena Rybakina, Svitolina, and Swiatek on her way to the final, proved once again to be in top form, taking the first set 6-3. After the second set went to Sabalenka, a third set was needed to decide the match. This turned out in favor of the American (7-5), who secured the victory with her second match point and thus won a Grand Slam for the first time in her career.
Australian Open 2025 results
Men's singles winner: Jannik Sinner
Women's Singles Winner: Madison Keys
Men's doubles winners: Harri Heliovaara/Henry Patten
Women's doubles winners: Katerina Siniakova/Taylor Townsend
Mixed doubles winners: Olivia Gadecki/John Peers
