Sinner's Hard Court Dominance, The American Resurgence, And More Takeaways From Melbourne

By BNP Paribas Open

Each year, the Australian Open offers tennis fans around the world a true three-week spectacle as players compete for the first Major title of the season. With the first Grand Slam of 2025 officially in the books, read on for some key takeaways and storylines.

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Madison Keys Captures Maiden Grand Slam With Remarkable Title Run

American Madison Keys first burst onto the scene nearly a decade ago with a run to the 2017 US Open Final and – eight years later – it’s finally her left standing on the champion’s podium.

Keys produced a spectacular run of tennis in Melbourne, taking down the World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the semifinal and World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final to capture her first taste of Grand Slam glory. Keys’ run also included Top 10 wins over Elena Rybakina and Danielle Collins.

The Illinois native became the oldest first-time women’s champion in Australian Open history (29-years-old), showcasing incredible resilience to capture the coveted Major title that has eluded her for an entire career. Keys has now vaulted into the Top 10 of the WTA rankings and will have more momentum than any other player heading into the 2025 BNP Paribas Open.

Keys became the first Grand Slam women's champion to defeat both the World No. 1 and World No. 2 in the same tournament since 2009 Roland-Garros.

Jannik Sinner Continues Hard Court Dominance, Can It Translate To Indian Wells?

If there was any debate left over the best hard court player on the ATP Tour, Jannik Sinner certainly put that talk to bed.

Sinner’s commanding title run was capped off with a definitive straight-set rout of Alexander Zverev in the final, giving the Italian his third consecutive Grand Slam hard court crown. He was barely tested en route to defending his 2024 Australian Open title, and Sinner will leave Melbourne feeling like the player to beat any time he’s on a hard court.

But despite his dominance on the surface, Sinner is yet to conquer the hard courts of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. He’s reached back-to-back BNP Paribas Open semifinals but fallen short to two-time defending Indian Wells champion Carlos Alcaraz each time.

Will 2025 be the year Sinner finally gets his breakthrough in the desert?

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Sinner is a back-to-back BNP Paribas Open semifinalist, but is yet to reach the final at Indian Wells.

The American Resurgence Is Real, And Likely Here To Stay

Keys’ championship run is of course the story of the tournament for American tennis, but it was a strong showing on the men’s side as well as a number of Americans continue to come into the ATP spotlight.

Ben Shelton continued his rapid climb up the rankings, reaching the second Grand Slam semifinal of his career and moving into the Top 15. Meanwhile, a quarterfinal run from 2024 BNP Paribas Open semifinalist Tommy Paul propelled him into the Top 10 of the rankings for the first time in his career.

And further down the board, the list of relevant young American players continues to grow. A pair of Southern California natives, 19-year-old Learner Tien and 20-year-old Alex Michelsen, both reached the fourth round, while Emma Navarro produced her career-best Australian Open finish with a run to the quarterfinals.