Aryna Sabalenka left Madison Keys‘ home fans at the 2025 Indian Wells Open stunned by beating the American 6-0, 6-1 to reach the Indian Wells Open final.
Many hoped for a match as epic as the pair’s 2025 Australian Open final. Keys won her first Grand Slam title after overcoming two-time champion Sabalenka 7-5 in the third set. It was one of the best WTA major finals ever.
Sabalenka set up the rematch with Keys by comfortably overcoming Liudmila Samsonova in the quarterfinal, handling very windy conditions the better of the two women to get a solid victory.
The conditions were similar on a cold and windy evening in California. Predicting which of the hard-hitting women would fare better under those circumstances was unclear before the match, but the answer quickly became evident.
Sabalenka played with more spin than usual in the rallies. The Belarusian took the chance to be aggressive when she could, but placed more emphasis than usual on being solid and making her opponent hit extra shots.
Keys, on a 16-match winning run before the tournament, has shown this season how formidable a player she is. However, Sabalenka’s movement and consistency are the better of the two, meaning her more careful strategy was wise.
The three-time Grand Slam was also helped by Keys being off her game. While she hit winners all over the court in the Australian Open final, the American missed several routine shots throughout the match.
There was a visible feeling of astonishment in the stadium at how one-sided the contest was. Sabalenka faced no break points in the opening set and consistently hit her groundstrokes deep and hard in the rallies.
That led to Sabalenka racing through the first set and taking it 6-0. Some might have expected Keys to leave the court to clear her mind, as players like Iga Swiatek often do, but the Australian Open champion decided not to do that.
Keys momentarily raised her level in the opening game of the second set. Hitting against the wind, she went for broke on Sabalenka’s serve and created a break point after a string of powerful shots from the baseline.
However, Sabalenka was in no mood to let up. The 2023 Indian Wells Open finalist stuck to her guns gameplan and Keys began to make unforced errors once again, allowing her opponent to hold.
After being broken for a fourth game to fall 0-6, 0-2, Sabalenka’s next service game was delayed when the fans began roaring with encouragement, trying to lift an increasingly dejected-looking Keys.
Unfortunately for the fans, their kind gesture had no impact. Sabalenka quickly won three more games, with Keys putting her head in her hands and looking emotional after losing serve for a fifth consecutive time.
Thankfully, Keys avoided losing every game with some powerful hitting, raising her arms to the crowd afterward. However, it only delayed the inevitable and Sabalenka served out an incredible 6-0, 6-1 victory.
Sabalenka will face Mirra Andreeva in the final after she beat an angry Iga Swiatek in the semifinal. Although the world No. 1’s performance was excellent against Keys, Andreeva almost certainly will not make it as easy for her.
