Madison Keys arrived in Australia under the radar and with the modest goal of seeing how well she could perform with her 30th birthday looming next month.

The resilient American now has the answer after defeating two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in three sets in Saturday's Australian Open final.

It is Keys's first major title, having reached a second Grand Slam final eight years after her first in New York. She lost on that occasion to Sloane Stephens.

The 6-3, 6-0 loss has rankled ever since, but it was also a learning experience.

"I think during that match I was so consumed with being nervous and the moment and the opportunity and all of that, that I never really gave myself a chance to actually play," she said this week.

"I think the big thing for me has just been knowing that there are going to be a lot of moments where I'm uncomfortable in the match.

"It's going to be stressful. You have thousands of people watching you."

Now ranked 14, Keys will return to the top 10 for the first time since 2019 next week.

She made her first semi-final at Melbourne Park in 2015 as a prodigious 19-year-old to showcase her potential.

A decade on, she defeated world number two Iga Swiatek in the last four this time to set up a showdown with world number one Sabalenka.

The Belarusian had been attempting to become the first woman to win three Melbourne crowns in a row since Martina Hingis from 1997-1999.

But Keys, the 19th seed and underdog, made a nonsense of all that to clinch the title 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in an absorbing final.

- 'Sharpening the axe' -

Keys ended her season early in October last year and married her coach, Bjorn Fratangelo, a month later.

The two players had been dating since 2017 and Fratangelo became her coach in 2023.

Fratangelo told reporters on the eve of the final that he felt Keys's best was yet to come.

"I think she's nowhere near her full potential," said Fratangelo, a fellow American who won the boys' singles at the 2011 French Open.

"Sharpening the axe can get you so far, but sometimes you just need new tools. I think that's what I've tried to bring to the table."

Sabalenka and Keys both boast a power game that can overwhelm opponents.

After losing the semi-final, Swiatek talked about Keys's "bravery" in going for big shots at big moments.

Fratangelo described Sabalenka on the eve of the final as "a little more of the polished version of Madison".

"But what I've seen from her now is just what the greats do," he said of Keys.

"They have the ability to raise the level when it matters most."

And so it proved on Saturday as Keys clinched the 10th title of her career, and biggest, for an early 30th birthday present.

Keys did it the hard way, beating former Melbourne finalists Danielle Collins and Elena Rybakina on the way.

She then came from a set down and saved a match point against world number two Swiatek in the semi-finals.

FACTBOX

MADISON KEYS

Age: 29

Nation: U.S.

WTA Ranking: 14

Seeding: 19

Grand Slam titles: 1 (Australian Open 2025)

ROAD TO FINAL

First round: beat Ann Li (U.S.) 6-4 7-5

Second round: beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse (Romania) 7-6(1) 2-6 7-5

Third round: beat 10-Danielle Collins (U.S.) 6-4 6-4

Fourth round: beat 6-Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) 6-3 1-6 6-3

Quarter-finals: beat 28-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) 3-6 6-3 6-4

Semi-finals: beat 2-Iga Swiatek (Poland) 5-7 6-1 7-6(8)

EARLY LIFE

* Keys was born in Rock Island, Illinois.

* She started playing tennis at the age of four.

CAREER TO DATE

* Having made her professional debut in 2009 aged 14, Keys won her first title on the ITF circuit in 2010 and added two more in 2012.

* In 2013, she broke into the top 100 before finishing the year ranked as world number 39.

* Her first WTA title came at 2014 Eastbourne International.

* The following year she reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon as well as the semis of the Australian Open, where she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams.

* She missed out on a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, losing to Czech Petra Kvitova in three sets.

* She reached her first Grand Slam final at the 2017 U.S. Open, falling to compatriot Sloane Stephens in straight sets.

* The biggest title of her career came at the 2019 Cincinnati Open after she defeated twice major winner Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final.

* She started the 2025 season on a high by clinching her ninth WTA Tour singles title at the Adelaide International, which she also won in 2022.

* After reaching the Australian Open semis in 2015 and 2022, Keys reached the 2025 final with a victory over five-times Grand Slam champion Swiatek.

* Keys became the second-oldest woman to claim her first Australian Open singles title in the Open era after China's Li Na, who was 31 when she triumphed at Melbourne Park in 2014.