American Madison Keys Beats Elena Rybakina to Reach Last Eight at Australian Open

Madison Keys pulls off a stunning upset at the Australian Open, defeating sixth seed Elena Rybakina 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals and extend her winning streak to nine matches.

Madison Keys pulled off a stunning upset at the Australian Open on Monday, defeating sixth seed Elena Rybakina 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in a thrilling match at Margaret Court Arena. With this victory, Keys extended her win streak to nine matches this year and advanced to the quarter-finals, where she will face Elina Svitolina.

The 29-year-old American had previously lost to Rybakina in their last two encounters, but she was in control for most of the match, aside from a brief slump in the second set. During that period, Keys lost four consecutive games, allowing Rybakina to level the match. However, Keys regained her composure and continued to play aggressively, neutralizing Rybakina's powerful serve and taking charge of the rallies.

loving it in Melbourne 🫶@Madison_Keys | #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/VRI4QKLL9K

— wta (@WTA) January 20, 2025

Rybakina appeared to be struggling with a lower back injury that had affected her in the third round, which Keys exploited to her advantage. "“Her serve is such a weapon, so I knew that if I could just try to make at least some of her service games a little bit competitive, then I had a chance,” Keys said in a post-match interview. The 19th seed's victory marked her third win over a top-10 player this month, a testament to her impressive form.

Madison Keys revealed that she adopted a pragmatic approach during her match against Elena Rybakina, particularly when facing the Kazakh's powerful serve. “So I was basically just trying to make anything that I could get my racket on back over the net, which worked sometimes,” Keys said, highlighting the challenges of returning Rybakina's serve.

Animated Madison Keys unlocked 🔓

She holds her serve after a 7 min 30 seconds game and it's getting tight in the decider already!#AO2025 pic.twitter.com/iPShWNKtph

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 20, 2025

The decisive third set was closely contested, with both players evenly matched at 3-3. However, Keys shifted into high gear, taking control of the set and ultimately sealing her victory with a searing cross-court winner on her second match point. With this win, Keys advanced to the next round, where she will face Ukraine's Elina Svitolina. Svitolina had earlier defeated Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 6-1 on Monday.