Disappointed Sabalenka rues missed chance: “I was unable to play my best tennis”

The world No 1 had been trying to win the title for the third straight time, but was beaten in a thrilling Australian Open final by Madison Keys

Aryna Sabalenka, Australian Open 2025 | © Julien Nouet / Tennis Majors

Simon Cambers

January 25, 2025

Aryna Sabalenka said she had been “unable to play her best tennis” as she was beaten 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 by an inspired Madison Keys in the Australian Open final on Saturday.

The world No 1 had been trying to win the title for the third year in a row, an achievement that would have put her alongside Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Martina Hingis, the last to do it in 1999.

But Keys played brilliant, aggressive tennis, while Sabalenka started slowly and never quite found her usual rhythm.

“I think she played super-aggressive,” said Sabalenka, who smashed her racquet by the side of the court after the match. “It seemed like everything was going her way. I was just trying to put the ball back. Couldn’t really play my aggressive tennis and didn’t feel my serve that well. The return was off.

It seemed like everything was going her way.

Then in the second set I kind of got my rhythm back. From the second set, I would say the real tennis match started. It’s definitely not the result I wanted to have. But I don’t know, I think she just stepped in and play, like, nothing to lose at the end and was just going for her shots.

“At that moment it went in, so was great tennis. She fought throughout the tournament. She had a lot of difficult matches. She fought for it. In the final, she was playing really aggressively. Just wasn’t my day.”

Sabalenka : “If I could change anything…”

Sabalenka began the match with a double fault and every time she missed her first serve, Keys attacked it, to great success. The Belarusian admitted her poor start cost her.

“It seemed like my legs were off at the beginning of the match,” she said. “I was on the back foot all the time. I didn’t serve my best at all.

“Tactically I’d say I didn’t play my best, as well, at the beginning of the match. If I could change anything, I would try to start a little bit better with the movement. Maybe be a little bit more aggressive and not try to just play too passive, you know, and play my game no matter what.”

Sabalenka: “It’s trophy or nothing”

Sabalenka was favourite to win Saturday’s final and though for many players reaching the final would be considered a good fortnight, for the world No 1 it’s a little different.

“When you get to the point of finals, it’s trophy or nothing,” she said. “Nobody remembers the finalist, you know? Nobody put, like, next to the winner finalist name.

“I mean, at this point, yeah, I go for titles. But, of course, I have to be anyway proud of myself with the finals, three finals in the row. That’s something crazy. I hope that next year I’ll come back as a better player, and I’ll hold Daphne (the trophy) one more time.”

Sabalenka explains racquet smash

Sabalenka left the stadium to calm down after breaking her racquet at the end and said she did that so she could be graceful when it came to the trophy presentation.

“There definitely was a bit of frustration because I was so close to achieve something crazy,” she said. “When you’re out there, you’re fighting, but it seems like everything going not the way you really want to go.

“I just needed to throw those negative emotions at the end just so I could give a speech, not stand there being disrespectful. I was just trying to let it go and be a good person, be respectful.”

“That’s definitely really tough. I was standing there and just was like, Okay, c’mon, you’ve been in her position. She deserve that. She was better player than you. Just, it was tough.”

But Sabalenka, who won the US Open last September for her third slam title, vowed to come back stronger.

“It’s OK,” she said. “I mean, I’m the one who knows that after tough losses, there is good wins. So I’ll keep working and make sure that next time, if I’ll be in this situation, I’ll play definitely better.”