Australian Open defending champion Madison Keys raised her game in the Melbourne Park heat to beat Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-3 and reach the fourth round.
Madison Keys fought through a leg injury to beat Jessica Pegula
Madison Keys is the second-oldest woman to claim her first Australian Open singles title in the Open era.
American Jessica Pegula defeated compatriot and defending champion Madison Keys to make the Australian Open quarter-finals.
Good things come to those who wait as the saying goes -- but Madison Keys's wait may have seemed interminable.
Keys, who captured her first Grand Slam title at the tournament last year, said she was still getting used to the surreal experience of seeing herself immortalised around Melbourne Park.
The opening Grand Slam of the year begins at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
Here is a player profile, a look at the form and records of American Madison Keys and compatriot Sloane Stephens ahead of Saturday's US Open final (prefix number denotes seeding)
Madison Keys is determined to take an extra step at the Grand Slams
Jannik Sinner was in ominous form on the Rod Laver Arena court he has ruled for two years before the match was cut short.
Aryna Sabalenka fell 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to Elena Rybakina on Saturday, the Russia-born Kazakh turning the tables on the Belarusian who beat her for the 2023 title.
Renata Zarazua, the only Mexican player in the US Open main draw, pulled off a stunning upset by beating sixth seed Madison Keys in the first round.
The four-times Grand Slam champion, who is eyeing her third Australian Open trophy when the tournament begins on January 18 at Melbourne Park, was pushed harder in the next set but edged ahead again at 5-4 to wrap up the win on serve.
Tough road for defending champion Keys
Sabalenka primed for Rybakina rematch with eyes on third Australian Open crown
World number one Aryna Sabalenka enters the Australian Open in her familiar role as the hot favourite but unlike in the past two years the powerful Belarusian arrives without a title to defend or the momentum of a winning run in Melbourne.
The Australian Open will offer a record A$111.5 million ($74.73 million) in prize money this year and while players welcomed the increase, top names like Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka said the push for a bigger payout must continue across the Grand Slams.
The day session attendance of 51,048 was some 10,000 short of day six on Friday and even less than last year's corresponding session.
Elena Rybakina held her nerve to outlast world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in a thrilling Australian Open 2026 women's singles final at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.
IMAGES from the Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park in Melbourne on Thursday.
Madison Keys fought off a late challenge from fellow American Hailey Baptiste to book her spot in the French Open quarter-finals with a 6-3, 7-5 victory at Roland Garros on Monday.
Top trio eye Grand Slam glory with Sabalenka targeting third Australian Open crown
Aryna Sabalenka exemplified consistency in 2025 and arrives for the November 1-8 tournament having retained her US Open title in September, after finishing runner-up to Madison Keys at the Australian Open and Coco Gauff at Roland Garros.
Elena Rybakina qualified for the WTA Finals' last four, beating an error-prone Iga Swiatek 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 on Monday, while Amanda Anisimova beat fellow American Madison Keys 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in Riyadh.
Iga Swiatek heads into Melbourne Park with the Australian Open title the only gap on her Grand Slam resume, but the world number two is keen to avoid setting herself targets for the new season and says her main goal is to improve her game.
While off-court battles over pay and governance rumbled on, opportunities were scarce beyond the duopoly at the top of the men's game, leaving Djokovic to provide the year's standout moments for the chasing pack.
-German veteran Tatjana Maria defied the odds to move into the biggest final of her career when she stunned second seed and Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-3, 7-6(3) at the Queen's Club Championships on Saturday.
Elena Rybakina put on a brilliant performance to defeat favourite Aryna Sabalenka 64, 46, 64 and lift her first Australian Open trophy.
Sabalenka, Keys reach Wimbledon third round with contrasting victories.
Elena Rybakina stayed unbeaten at the WTA Finals in Riyadh with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over second alternate Ekaterina Alexandrova on Wednesday after Madison Keys withdrew from their final round robin meeting with illness and Mirra Andreeva was not fit to play.
Madison Keys, 29, is the fourth-oldest first-time Grand Slam champion in the professional era.
Australian Open winner Madison Keys became the latest seed to tumble out of Wimbledon 2025.
Elena Rybakina rallied from a set down to beat Russian fourth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 and win the Ningbo Open title on Sunday, as her late surge to reach next month's WTA Finals gained momentum.
Players from the Philippines and Hong Kong will be on the schedule for the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time this week, as the U.S. Open sees the impact of an increasingly global game.
Madison Keys said she would be wary about being too aggressive against Iga Swiatek.
Madison Keys blasted her way into the Australian Open semi-finals for a third time as the American continues her bid for a first Grand Slam title.
A ruthless Iga Swiatek slammed the door shut on German lucky loser Eva Lys with a 6-0 6-1 win on Monday to breeze into the quarter-finals of the year's opening Grand Slam for the second time.
Defending champion Jannik Sinner, who has been recovering from illness, received a more favourable route to the US Open final than Carlos Alcaraz while Aryna Sabalenka will be tested in her bid to retain her title after the draw was made on Thursday.
Aryna Sabalenka will battle American 19th seed Madison Keys in the final on Saturday looking to become the first woman since Martina Hingis from 1997-99 to win the Australian Open title three times in a row.
Aryna Sabalenka overwhelmed Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 with a impressive display of raw power to reach her third successive Australian Open final on Thursday.
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