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Coaches' corner: Inside the Keys and Sabalenka camps

  • Gill Tan

Ahead of Saturday night’s blockbuster Australian Open 2025 women’s singles final between two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and 19th seed Madison Keys, their coaches shared a few insights.

Keys, the 29-year-old American, saved a match point before capturing one of the most memorable wins of her career, upsetting second seed Iga Swiatek in an electrifying semifinal on Thursday night to earn a berth in her maiden AO final and first Grand Slam final since the 2017 US Open.

MORE: Australian Open women's singles draw

“That was as gutsy as I've ever seen her compete,” said husband and coach Bjorn Fratangelo, who won the Roland Garros 2011 junior boys’ singles title by defeating Dominic Thiem, and retired from professional tennis in 2023 after peaking at a career high of No.99.

When they began to work together in June 2023, Fratangelo asked her a series of questions including ‘Are you happy with staying 11 through 25 [in the rankings]’ and ‘Do you want to try to push for more?’

Receptive to his feedback both generally and from the coaches’ box at Rod Laver Arena, the American is back in title contention at a major for the first time in eight years.

“Something that I bring to the table is I have a very good eye for what's going on inside the match at all given moments and I'm able to adjust the game plan on the fly,” said Fratangelo, quickly crediting Keys for executing on that game plan and trusting him.

“There's a lot of room for improvement, and that's the scary part,” he added, acknowledging his wife has all the tools to succeed and continues to make tweaks, which is inspiring at this stage of her career. “You can always look to improve, and that's what the greats do,” he said.

Standing in Keys’ way of a maiden major is Sabalenka, the world No.1 vying for a three-peat at Melbourne Park.

 

 

“Maybe Aryna is a little more of the polished version of Madison,” mulled Fratangelo. “Similar in size, similar game style, Aryna I think just does things a little bit better over the course of a 52-week calendar year.” 

He never doubted the top seed in her quarterfinal over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, even after she dropped the second set, and he compared the 26-year-old’s mentality and ability to lift in crucial moments to greats including Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

“Tomorrow is going to be tough, but I have a good feeling about it,” he said of Keys' chances. “I think she can do some pretty cool things as long as she stays calm.”

Sabalenka's team say the maturity and steadiness their charge has displayed this fortnight underscore her ability to dominate not only in a final, but in any match.

Jason Stacy, the world No.1’s fitness coach, said her emotional management, self-awareness and ability to focus on factors within her control has been amazing.

Jason Stacy (c) and Anton Dubrov (r) at AO 2025

“Even when she felt herself slipping away, [becoming] a little more emotional or a little bit distracted, she was able to pull herself back in,” he said. 

Sabalenka, who naturally loves to play aggressive tennis, knows “when and how to have that intensity cranked way up versus when she needs to settle herself down and draw back into herself."

Sabalenka’s coach Anton Dubrov said the top seed’s unwavering belief on court comes from being confident in her ability to adapt to whichever game plan is necessary.

“If something is not going to work well, she always know[s] she has a plan B, a backup plan, so she can always come back to what she can feel much better,” he said.

Dubrov has taught his charge to manage energy by using an opponents’ power – something she’ll no doubt apply against Keys. Also pivotal, he says, is an ability to remain patient and manufacture opportunities even when she’s not playing her best.

 

 

“She still understand[s] that even in the bad days, she [has] a lot of things she can do on the court and she know that it's going to hurt opponent a lot, and she's going to have her chances,” Dubrov said. He noted that Sabalenka no longer goes for broke if things aren’t going as planned.

Dubrov reflected on Sabalenka’s three-set win over Pavlyuchenkova, identifying her ability to fuel a fire inside herself. “Every ball for her was like a match point,” he said, pointing to the fact she gained control of the match by applying relentless pressure.

If the big-hitting righthander clinches a third AO crown and fourth Grand Slam singles title, Dubrov said they won’t focus on any tally. “The only time we're going to look [at] them is after she's going to finish her career,” he said.

As for Saturday night, expect power to be unleashed from both sides of the net.

“It's pretty similar to maybe the way Aryna played her first final against [Elena] Rybakina because Madison serve[s] really well, the first shot she can accelerate really fast,” Dubrov mused. “It's more about how you can take away from her these first two shots and take this control.”

Return games will be crucial. “It's just who is going to try to dominate to find this right amount of the power so they can control it, not over-hit it, because it's going to be fast,” he said, acknowledging management of emotions and ability to focus despite the occasion will be vital.