Professional tennis players are generally well-accustomed to traveling with an excess amount of luggage, but boarding a flight with a grand slam trophy was a new experience for Madison Keys.

In the deciding set of the Australian Open finals on January 25, Illinois-born, Florida-raised Madison Keys, the 19th ranked player, steeled herself against her opponent, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, the formidable No.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Madison Keys beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in the Australian Open final at Melbourne Park Saturday.

The newlywed Keys, whose husband and coach is former American tennis player Bjorn Fratangelo, said after some much needed sleep, they'll be "back to work on Monday" to prepare for "lots of tournaments" including the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells and the Miami Open back to back in March.

Be brave. Go for it. Those were the mantras Madison Keys turned to as she confronted the most significant points of her tennis career, trapped in the cauldron of a third set that was tied at 5-all, 30-all in the Australian Open final against two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday.

With women’s tennis on the verge of an epic showdown between its top two players with the Australian Open title on the line, Keys, the 29-year-old American, crashed the party. She stormed back against Iga Swiatek to win their semifinal 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10-8).

Keys, ranked 14th and seeded 19th, prevented Sabalenka from earning what would have been her third women's trophy in a row at the Australian Open — something last accomplished by Martina Hingis from 1997-99 — and her fourth major title overall.

American Madison Keys upset two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 during the Australian Open final Saturday night.

Australian Open women’s champion Madison Keys has returned to her career-best ranking and joins three other American women in the WTA top 10, while men’s champion Jannik Sinner maintained his signific

Australian Open champion Madison Keys credits therapy with helping her understand herself, and that helped her become a better tennis player.

Bjorn Fratangelo praised the perseverance of wife Madison Keys after she finally achieved her dream of winning a grand-slam title. The 29-year-old defeated two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in a thrilling contest at the Australian Open to fulfil the predictions of those who saw her burst onto the scene as a teenage prodigy.

The Madison Keys who will play two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka for the title at the Australian Open on Saturday night is not the same Madison Keys who was the runner-up at the U.S.