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.

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).

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.

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.

MELBOURNE, Australia — When Madison Keys stepped into Rod Laver Arena at 7:37 p.m. on Saturday night ahead of the Australian Open final, she strode right past the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, the trophy that goes to the women’s champion and was placed on a pedestal near the entrance to the court.

Madison finds the Keys and coach Murray impresses – what we learned in Melbourne - Sinner successfully defended his title and tightened his stranglehold on men’s tennis, while Keys finally fulfilled her teenage promise.

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

Madison Keys appeared destined for a Grand Slam trophy. Sixteen years later on a breezy night in Melbourne, she held it in her hands.

American Madison Keys dethroned Aryna Sabalenka to become the oldest first-time winner of the women’s singles title at the Australian Open.

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.