Keys, the No. 19 seed and a two-time semifinalist at Melbourne Park, had won the first set. But Rybakina, who like Keys is a precise winner machine when she is playing the tennis she wants to play, had taken the second by seizing the initiative and playing on her front foot. Halfway to the finish, Keys had become a passive counterpuncher.

Madison Keys felt her career was all but over when she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals of the 2023 U.S. Open. The veteran American was selective about the events she played in 2024, achieving little success in the tournaments she entered.