Aryna Sabalenka vs Madison Keys – Australian Open women’s final LIVE: wins her first grand slam in one of the great Australian Open upsets – as World No.1 loses it on court

Keys draws first blood and the crowd is baying in between points now.

A stunning backhand return down the line and she’s two points away from the victory of her life. Sabalenka looks at her coaching box in shock.

Then Keys mishits one to relieve the pressure somewhat.

She somehow keeps the ball in play after a dynamite ball from Aryna to the corner and has two match points.

Big serve from Sabalenka and Keys sends it just barely into the tramlines.

Keys does it! One of the great underdog wins in Australian history has just unfolded and the American has her first grand slam title.

‘OK, bear with me, I am absolutely going to cry,’ Keys begins after receiving the silverware she’s waited so long for.

‘This means the absolute world to me,’ she tells the crowd, before thanking the ‘physios who hold us together with tape’.

Then she makes good on her promise to shed a tear as she sends a message to her team, saying she didn’t know if she’d ever be back in a position to win a grand slam after falling short in heartbreaking fashion at the US Open.

Her husband is tearing up too as she says he is ‘kind of dazed and confused’ – with Sabalenka pointing out Bjorn’s whereabouts as Keys searched for him.

Commentator Sam Smith said this would be an incredibly poplular victory because Keys is so well liked, and she hit the bullseye there.

Bjorn Frantangelo, who is also Keys’ coach, gets a special award from Goolagong Cawley, and now we get to hear from the newly crowned champion…

Evonne Goolagong Cawley is on hand to present the trophy, but first we all have to sit through a video presentation about the cup’s journey through Victoria, then a speech from a WTA official while Keys waits patiently for her moment in the sun.

The coold-down break has worked for Sabalenka, who pretends to grab the winner’s trophy as she begins to address the crowd, saying she hopes to get her hands on it next year.

‘I’ll come back stronger and do my best next year,’ she says, after warmly congratulating her opponent.

It’s a classy display from her considering how gutted she was in the immediate aftermath.

She jokes with her support crew – ‘I don’t want to see you next week, I really hate you. Thanks for all you do for me… blah, blah, blah.’

Keys is in tears with her husband and the rest of her coaching staff. Sabalenka greeted her warmly at the net after match point, then smashed her racquet immediately as the loss sank in and sat devastated with a towel over her head.

What a display from the 19th seed. When the pressure was just building to a crescendo, she responded in the best way possible, digging in and brilliantly saving her best for last.

And Sabalenka has left the court and walked back down the tunnel.

Down 15-30, Keys calmly uses a change of pace to even it back up again.

Her serve sends Sabalenka wide, she smashes a forehand to the corner, but Keys hammers it back with pinpoint placement, then wrong-foots Aryna on the next point.

Great hold there as an incredibly close set remains on a razor’s edge.

You could cut the air with one of those awful white plastic knives you get at a canteen right now.

Sabalenka goes 40-15 up, then a brilliant Keys backhand proves too much for her to return.

She screams in triumph after holding again on the back of a huge first serve.

Here’s the multiple grand slam champ with another retired Aussie, commentator Casey Dellacqua.

Brilliant start by Keys, who races to 30-love.

However, she can’t control a volley after coming in behind her serve, hitting long.

That return by Sabalenka almost dribbled over the net, but just failed to clear the tape.

A shocking mistake by Keys there, who could’ve hit staight down the line with both players close to the net, but tries for a slice that hits the net.

No matter – she gets out of jail thanks to a Sabalenka error.

New balls, please, and the extra little break has come at a great time for Keys, whose serve will now be under crushing pressure.

The rules for tiebreaks in the deciding sets at grand slams were changed in 2022.

If this keeps going the way it is and we get to 6-all, we’ll have a 10-point tiebreak – meaning the winner will have to be the first to 10 with an advantage of two or more points.

More great play from Keys, with heavy forehands to the corners and a dynamite serve to close that game out.

Someone has to blink first here and it’s just about impossible to pick who that will be at the moment, with both stars staying unruffled despite the incredibly high stakes.

With every service hold, you can hear the tension building at Melbourne Park. Neither star looks like breaking in this battle of wills.

The No.1 seed’s fitness coach Jason Stacy has a temporary tiger tattoo on his head.

Better from Keys there, with a service game more like what Sabalenka dished up just before: a clear-cut, quick win.

Keys makes it 15-all on her serve with a winner that draws a smile and makes the crow gasp after Sabalenka had to stretch to great lengths just to get the previous ball back into play.

Sabalenka races to 40-15 here and is winning her service points more easily than Keys has been this set.

The American sends another one long and Aryna makes short work of that game.

Sure, we’ve had Jackie Chan and the Thorpedo, but non-Aussie fans who are tuning in won’t have seen many familiar faces in the crowd tonight.

And Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is elsewhere, performing his Australian of the Year duties ahead of what could be a very controversial national day tomorrow.

Sabalenka is inside the baseline and firing the heavy artillery to start this game.

A brilliant return gives her a path to the net and there’s that drop shot again, struck on an acute angle.

Keys replies with a savage forehand winner, then wins one of the few rallies in the match, using the slice to give herself time to reposition.

Sabalenka can’t return and Keys comes back from 30-love down to hold.

A brutal ace by Sabalenka makes it 40-15 to her, then a second serve to Keys’ backhand works a charm as she hits it long. Easy hold there.

That’s more like it from the American, who is staying composed despite a withering assault from Sabalenka seeing her get crushed in the second frame.

Aryna has a tiger tattoo and tigers on her shoes, and is well known for her love of the animal, which is a big inspiration to her.

And a fan has picked up that ball and is running with it, screaming ‘Eye of the tiger!’ with the sort of volume that will leave her neighbouring spectators with industrial deafness if they’re not careful.

It’s a reference to the famous line and song from the third Rocky film, which is all about the title character making a huge comeback. Fitting.

Aryna goes up 30-0 with yet another drop shot. Those were a rarity in the first set but she’s peppered Keys with them since, and done a beautiful job of it.

Keys can’t get it over the net with what should have been an easy winner. She needs to recollect herself here, although she isn’t showing many visible signs of frustration despite the huge change in fortunes.

Another double fault from Sabalenka makes it 40-30.

A Keys shot goes just a tad long and it’s one set apiece.

Sabalenka with an error on return of serve to give Keys her second game of the set. The champion will serve for the second frame after staging a very impressive turnaround.

Keys appears to be getting to grips with the focus on her backhand after commentator Jelena Dokic questioned whether she might have picked up an injury due to her very poor run over the last few games.

A monster ace from Sabalenka brings it to deuce – amazing serve under pressure there. She follows that with another beautiful drop shot.

Keys strikes a weaponised winner down the line at full stretch to bring it back to deuce. This is a very high-quality game.

And as I write that, Sabalenka whacks one into the net despite having plenty of time to set up the shot. Another drop shot on a very fine angle erases that mistake.

Backhand slice into the net by Keys and it’s advantage Sabalenka, who wins the next to hold and take her fifth game in a row.

The drop shot works well for Sabalenka yet again, as does the now constant targeting of the American’s backhand. A double break comes on the back of a brilliant passing shot with Keys charging the net. The chances of that hat-trick of wins just got a whole lot better…

Keys is struggling with Sabalenka’s focus on her backhand, producing unforced errors off it at crucial moments. She gets to 30-all but lets that game slip away…

A great backspin forehand with Keys coming into the net had the American completely mystified – she missed that by a mile.

You get the feeling Sabalenka is working her way back into this, starting to target her opponent’s backhand, and she has a break point that Keys rescues with another ace.

The American almost breaks a ball kid’s nose with a very wayward backhand, then digs herself back to deuce with another unreturnable first serve. That’s one area where she has it all over Aryna.

Big return down the line by Sabalenka earns her another break point and this time she capitalises.

Keys didn’t make that easy but some brutal displays of power get the reigning champ on the board in the second frame.

Sabalenka makes it 15-all with a laser beam of a shot that richochets off Keys’ racquet and hits her on the side of the head. That was a bouncer Aussie cricket skipper Pat Cummins would’ve been proud of.

A rushed overhead with the court wide open to her – branded ‘incredibly unusual’ by commentator Sam Smith – leaves Sabalenka so disgusted she drops her racquet to the court.

But she regathers quickly, sending a crafty backspin drop shot over for a winner to make it 30-all, then rocketing a winner down the line for a brilliant return of serve winner.

Keys charges in and Sabalenka rushes her shot, pushing it into the net. Deuce.

Keys comes in again, Aryna is cramped and sends it into the net, and she’s furious with herself.

Then Madison relieves the pressure with an unforced error and it’s deuce once more.

Another unforced error from Keys, who makes up for it with a well-placed ace.

Former Aussie star Alicia Molik says Keys’ reliance on her slice backhand has ambushed the reigning champ and put her on the back foot.

Jelena Dokic in commentary says Sabalenka is trying too hard to make up for her poor service game – and on the very next point, Keys booms a backhand down the line to take the set.

Keys is on top for aces (2-0), percentage of first serves in, wins on first serve, and second serve, she has 10 winners to Sabalenka’s four, but the unforced errors are closer than they seem – 12 to the Belarusian, 10 to the American.

Growing signs of frustration for Sabalenka as a mishit sees the ball fly far past the baseline. She is a very unhappy camper.

Then Keys comes up with a ghastly mistake of her own, over-hitting what should have been an easy winner from close to the net – followed by sinking it into the net on the next point.

And another shot into the net makes it 15-40 in easily her worst game of the match so far.

Sabalenka lets her back into it with another unforced error, then gets the break she desperately needed.

Sabalenka is way off the form that got her this far. Double faults, hitting easy shots into the net, spraying her ground strokes long… and the frustration is starting to show.

Great rally at 30-all and Keys comes out on top. She seems to be reading Sabalenka really well and getting into great position for each shot.

A sledgehammer serve takes it to deuce, then Keys hits past the baseline to give the champ the advantage.

Massive return from Keys takes it to deuce again. Sabalenka didn’t even bother moving to try to get to that one.

The stars exchange points as this game see-saws, then Keys makes an unforced error and Sabalenka holds.

The American breezed through that one, hitting a stunning drop shot winner that had the crowd gasping and left Sabalenka incredulous.

Incredible start by the 19th seed.

More service problems for Sabalenka, with another double fault leaving her down 30-40.

Then she cops a double break as an attempted drop shot hits the net as she charges in.

Keys is showing no ill effects from her long semifinal and she is taking advantage of her opponent’s many mistakes.

Here’s swimming legend Ian Thorpe, looking like he raided Elwood Blues’s wardrobe.

A 182km/h ace by Keys puts her up 30-love, then she sends a forehand into the tramlines. An unforced error from Sabalenka makes it 40-15, then Keys misses a sitter as she can’t capitalise on another great serve. The reigning champ over-hits a return and it’s 3-1 Keys.

Keys is playing brilliantly here, moving Sabalenka around and taking advantage of her relative lack of mobility with some great shot placement and going up 30-15 before Aryna hits back with a dynamite forehand and big first serve before holding for the first time tonight.

Here’s David Boon, who’ll be known to locals as one of the country’s biggest cricket cult heros.

For all you non-Aussies, he’s also known for drinking 52 cans of beer on a flight from Sydney to London.

Keys went up 30-love on her serve before some heavy ground strokes and a brilliant return brought Sabalenka back into it. Keys comes to the net and hits and easy overhead winner after moving Aryna around the court, then seals the game with a great first serve.

He was giving Lleyton Hewitt martial arts tips before, now he’s got one of the best seats in the house.

A service game littered with faults from the Belarusian, putting herself down 30-40 with two doubles, and the wind might have played a bit of a role in those. Keys capitalises and she gets a dream start.

Sabalenka is serving, and she begins by sending the ball long for a fault… and then another one. Not an ideal start…

We’re in the final stages of the countdown now…

Evonne Goolagong Cawley arriving on centre court with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup is to be expected… but rugby great Dan Carter? What’s that all about?

The devil is in the detail here. You’ll see that the cup arrived in a Louis Vuitton case after the luxury firm reached a deal to make the trunk the silverware arrives in, and Carter – one of the greatest All Blacks ever – is an ambassador for the brand.

And the trophy has already arrived, accompanied by Aussie tennis legend Evonne Goolagong Cawley.

You’ve already seen why the No.1 seed will have a blank space next to her name on the graphics broadcast for tonight’s final as Belarus’s role in the Ukraine war sees the nation’s flag replaced with a blank space.

That extends to the way Sabalenka’s name will be engraved into the trophy if she beats keys. Unlike other title holders, she will not have the abbreviated name of her country etched into the mug.

Sabalenka and Keys are due to make their way onto the court at any minute…

The last woman to record a hat-trick of titles was Martina Hingis, from 1997 to 1999.

Before her we have Monica Seles (1991-93), Steffi Graf (1988-90), Evonne Goolagong Cawley (1974-76) and Margaret Court (1969-71).

The American star shared a light-hearted superstition she has about her good friend and countryman.

‘We have this kind of joke where in the past he wouldn’t say anything pre-tournament … and then he would text me in the quarters or the semis or something, and I would lose in the next round. So we have this new rule: don’t text me, I don’t want to hear from you at all, just leave me alone and we’ll talk after the tournament.’

Club 1905 is the pinnacle of luxury at Melbourne Park. If you’d sold your car or taken out a second mortgage to secure your place in the exclusive group, here’s what you’d be getting…

Former Australian star turned commentator Alicia Molik belives Keys will have to overcome the ‘incredibly physical’ three-set semi she won over Iga Swiatek to come out on top tonight, but she isn’t writing off her chances at all.

‘It is the best tennis played in that match that I have seen in the last 10 or 12 years,’ she said of the dramatic semifinal.

‘That’s not just here in the Australian Open, that is in women’s tennis full stop.’

Keys contested the 2017 US Open final against her countrywoman Sloane Stephens – and it did not go well for her at all.

After losing the first set 6-3, she was blown away 6-0 to lose the match after making 30 unforced errors to Stephens’ six.

Keys was the favourite heading into the clash.

‘Sloane is one of my favourite people, I didn’t play my best tennis and if there’s someone I have to lose to today I’m glad it’s her,’ Keys said as she struggled to contain her emotions afterwards.

Eagle-eyed viewers tonight will pick up on the fact that while Madison Keys will have the US flag displayed next to her name on Nine’s graphic, there’s just a blank space for Aryna Sabalenka. Here’s the explanation…

The omission of the flag extends to the way Sabalenka’s name will be engraved into the trophy if she beats keys. Unlike other title holders, she will not have the abbreviated name of her country etched into the mug.

Whoever wins the final will be presented with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, pictured below, which was first awarded in 1934.

The trophy was actually made in England, and it’s named after the Aussie who won the title in 1925, 1926, 1928, 1929 and 1930.

In 1970, the lid of the cup went missing because the Open had shifted to Sydney and only the base was brought north to NSW.

Former Tennis Australia boss Geoff Pollard and his wife found the missing piece when they were going through cupboards at Sydney’s White City stadium around 1982.

Whoever gets up tonight will get a full-size replica of the mug – with the lid.

Madison Keys looks completely unruffled in this clip from the players’ gym, with just over an hour to go before she tries to win her first grand slam.

The tennis star turned Nine commentator believes the American is doomed if she drops the first set against Sabalenka.

Keys went a set down to Iga Swiatek in her semi before her stirring fightback saw her survive a match point to advance – but Dokic believes she won’t be able to overcome a similar start against the top seed.

‘If she doesn’t get a good start, even if she doesn’t win the first set, I think it’s going to be very hard for her to win from there,’ Dokic told Nine.

This year’s prize money pool for the grand slam went up by almost 12 per cent to $96.5million.

Whoever wins tonight will pocket $3.5million, with the runner-up getting a $1.9million boost to their bank account.

Madison Keys has borrowed a very effective ploy from the Roger Federer playbook to be on the brink of an improbable Australian Open finals triumph.

Last year was shocker for the American, with Keys forced to quit with a hamstring injury while leading eventual runner-up Jasmine Paolini 5-2 in the fourth round of Wimbledon.

She also missed the Paris Olympics and crashed out in the third round back in New York at the US Open.

So Keys, at the behest of her coach and husband Bjorn Frantangelo, figured something had to change.

Just as Federer changed to a bigger racquet head before conquering great rival Rafael Nadal in the 2017 Australian Open final, Keys made a bold equipment change before the summer.

The 2017 US Open runner-up switched from Wilson to Yonex – and the results have been incredible.

Keys is unbeaten in 2025, following up her march to the Adelaide International title with six straights wins at Melbourne Park to make the final.

Superstar Jackie Chan has caught up with the Aussie tennis great after being mobbed by fans at Melbourne Park when he was greeted by performers in dragon costumes earlier in the day. Chan also had a chat with men’s singles finalist Alexander Zverev near the players’ gym.

Career win-loss record: 397-220

Grand slam win-loss record: 115-45

Australian Open win-loss record: 30-12

Best Australian Open results: finalist 2024; semi-finalist 2015, 2022

1st rd: bt Ann Li (USA) 6-4 7-5

2nd rd: bt Elena-Gabriela Ruse (ROU) 7-6 (7-1) 2-6 7-5

3rd rd: bt 10-Danielle Collins (USA) 6-4 6-4

4th rd: bt 6-Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 6-3 1-6 6-3

QF: bt 28-Elina Svitolina (UKR) 3-6 6-3 6-4

SF: bt 2-Iga Swiatek (POL) 5-7 6-1 7-6 (10-8)

Grand slam titles: 3 (Australian Open 2023, 2024; US Open 2024)

Grand slam win-loss record: 83-23

Australian Open win-loss record: 28-5

Best Australian Open results: champion 2023, 2024

1st rd: bt Sloane Stephens (USA) 6-3 6-2

2d rd: bt Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (ESP) 6-3 7-5

3rd rd: bt Clara Tauson (DEN) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

4th rd: bt 14-Mirra Andreeva (RUS) 6-1 6-2

QF: bt 27-Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 6-2 3-6 6-3

SF: bt 11-Paula Badosa (ESP) 6-4 6-2

Here’s how the American and the Belarusian stack up with just hours to go before they meet at Rod Laver Arena…

Sabalenka (first seed) leads Keys (19th seed) 4-1 in all match-ups, and 2-0 at grand slams

2024 Beijing, hard, R16, Sabalenka 6-4 6-3

2023 US Open, hard, SF, Sabalenka 0-6 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 (7-5)

2023 Wimbledon, grass, QF, Sabalenka 6-2 6-4

2021 Berlin, clay, R16, Sabalenka 4-6 6-1 7-5

2018 Cincinnati, hard, QF, Keys 6-3 6-4

Thanks for joining Daily Mail Australia’s live blog of the women’s singles final from Melbourne Park.

We’ll be bringing you all the latest news, opinion and best moments as Aryna Sabalenka tries to make it a hat-trick of Australian Open titles.