The Australian Open, one of only four Grand Slams, the largest type of tournament on the tennis calendar, had countless exciting upsets, heartbreaking injuries, and other surprises. The tournament took place from January 12th to January 26th in Melbourne Park, Australia.
On the men’s side, the start of the 10 month tennis season brought high ambitions for many of the world’s top players. Jannik Sinner was looking to defend his title from last year, a tournament he won in a nail-biting 5-set thriller against Russian Daniil Medvedev that lasted nearly four hours. Sinner also won the US Open in September. Novak Djokovic was looking for his 25th Grand Slam victory, a victory that would put him in first place for most Grand Slams all time, men or women, and would break the first place tie with Margaret Court, who won 24. Third seeded Carlos Alcaraz was looking for his first career Australian Open title after winning both the French Open and Wimbledon last year, two of the other Grand Slams.
The first few rounds had many exciting upsets of players expected to make a deep run in the tournament. Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud, both in the top ten, were upset in Round 1 and 2 respectively. Taylor Fritz, the highest ranked American player, was upset in the third round by French veteran and fan-favorite Gael Monfils.
Djokovic and Alcaraz squared off in a highly anticipated quarterfinal, with fans craving the same intensity from their matchups in the last two Wimbledon finals and the 2024 Paris Olympics Gold Medal Match. This time, the match was a grueling 4 sets, with the injured Djokovic coming out on top. However, Djokovic eventually succumbed to his hamstring injury, and he unfortunately had to retire from his semifinal match against Alexander Zverev after losing the first set, propelling Zverev into the final.
One seed Jannik Sinner coasted through his first six matches without too much trouble, before facing Zverev in the final. His dominance continued as he beat Zverev 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. This was Sinner’s third career Grand Slam title, and he is only 23 years old.
Over on the women’s side, this tournament was all about American Madison Keys. Keys went in as the 19th seeded player, not on anyone’s radar as someone who could potentially win the entire tournament. Yet she pushed her way through her challenging draw, taking out players like Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina, and two-seeded favorite Iga Swiatek in the semis. Keys’ Grand Slam final appearance was her first since 2015, when she made the Australian Open final as a 19-year-old.
In the finals, she took on reigning champion and heavy favorite Aryna Sabalenka, a blistering player with a massive serve and groundstrokes. Keys took the first set with a score of 6-3, before Sabalenka fought back, taking the second set 6-2. In the decider, the players remained on serve, meaning the server won every game.
In professional tennis, the players can serve with such pace and accuracy that the serving player wins nearly every time. A match is typically decided by who can “break,” or win a returning game, against the opponent’s serve. The Australian Open final followed this trend, as the players remained on serve until 5-5 in the third set. Keys won her service game, taking a 6-5 lead. She then proceeded to play four stellar return points, concluding with an angled inside-out forehand to take the set, the match, and the entire tournament.
Dylan Vale, a junior and player on the Boys Varsity Tennis Team, commented, “Keys’ win definitely surprised me most. I completely expected a final between Sabalenka and Gauff or Swiatek.”
Eric Li, another tennis player at HHS, thought Keys played an exceptional tournament. “She played more sets compared to Swiatek and Sabalenka, playing to the third set in five of her seven matches. I’m surprised she was still able to fight against them all.”
This tournament is surely one Madison Keys will never forget, as she is officially etched in the tennis history books. The win will propel Keys all the way into seventh in the world on the WTA rankings, a career high ranking for her. She, along with Men’s Champion Jannik Sinner, will surely have high expectations for the remainder of their 2025 seasons.
