Sabalenka throws racket after Australian Open loss to Keys

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka threw her racket on the sideline. She sat on her bench with a towel over her head. She then even briefly walked off the court before the trophy ceremony when her bid for a third consecutive Australian Open championship ended with a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 loss to Madison Keys in the final Saturday.

“There definitely was a bit of frustration, because I was so close to achieve something crazy. When you’re out there, you’re fighting, but it seems like everything (is not) going the way you really want (it) to go,” the No. 1-ranked Sabalenka said.

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

She had won 20 matches in a row at Melbourne Park, and one more victory on Saturday would have allowed Sabalenka to become the first woman since Martina Hingis from 1997-99 to complete a threepeat in Australia.

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

This one was certainly close.

Keys won merely one more point than Sabalenka did in the match, 92-91.

They had the same number of winners, 29 apiece.

There was not a break point in the third set until the very last game.

“She played, like, super aggressive. It seemed like everything was going her way,” Sabalenka said of the early going. “I was just trying to put the ball back.”

Sabalenka entered the match with an 11-0 record in 2025. She also had been 4-1 head-to-head against Keys, a 29-year-old American who was seeded 19th in the tournament, including a win for Sabalenka in the semifinals of the U.S. Open two years ago.

“Aryna, unbelievable playing. I’m glad I finally got you back,” Keys said. “You’re always so tough to play. We always have the craziest matches. So congratulations to you and your team for another amazing Grand Slam run.”

Sabalenka, who was the runner-up in New York to Coco Gauff in 2023 and won that event last September, could not quite leave Australia with what would have been her fourth major trophy overall.

During her speech Saturday, she joked with her team.

“As always, that’s your fault, guys. I don’t want to see you for the next week. I really hate you!” Sabalenka said with a laugh. “Thank you very much for everything you’re doing for me and blah, blah, blah.”

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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis