On January 25, Beijing time, the 2025 Australian Open decided the women's singles champion, and the No. 19 seed Keys defeated the two-time defending champion and top seed Sabalenka 6-3/2-6/7-5 to win the first Grand Slam women's singles title in her career.

Keys made her debut as an American "talented girl", reaching the semifinals of a Grand Slam women's singles for the first time at the 2015 Australian Open and reaching the final of the 2017 US Open, but it wasn't until she was close to achieving her dream of a Grand Slam. After the race, Case shared his journey over the years:

"I feel like from a very young age, I felt like if I never won a Grand Slam, then I had failed what people expected of me. That's a pretty heavy burden. So I ended up at a stage where I'm proud of myself and my career, with or without a Grand Slam. I've finally reached a state where I'm comfortable with a Grand Slam even if I don't have a Grand Slam. I don't feel like I have to win a Grand Slam to feel like I'm having a successful career or to feel worthy of being called a great tennis player. I feel like finally letting go of those thoughts in my heart has given me the ability to really get out there and play some really good tennis and eventually win a Grand Slam. ”

"I was about 11 or 12 years old (people said I would win a Grand Slam). Obviously, it was meant to help me build my confidence or something. I feel like as I've gotten older, I've come close to winning a lot of times and I haven't been able to do it, and then you're getting older, obviously late in your career, and you're like, is this going to happen? If it hadn't happened, I had failed what everyone thought I should have done. So I feel like it's almost going from being a positive thing to a little bit of a panic thing, and you wonder why hasn't it happened yet? Why can't I do that? It starts to put more stress on me, like what if I can't do it all the time? If I can't, will I be considered a loser? Because of all this pressure on myself, I personally have to try to overcome a lot of things. ”

Keys talks about how she started to find herself more and more after the injuries and tough losses she had in the past year. "I'm starting to be more clear-headed and more focused on the moment. I feel like I'm a lot better at solving problems when I'm on the field. In the past, I used to feel like I was out of my body and looking down on myself when I was in a game, especially when things were starting to go bad. I felt like my brain and body couldn't coordinate. I think last year I've started to be able to focus more on the present moment and play point by point instead of panicking and thinking too broadly. I feel like I'm starting to play some good shots and find solutions when I'm not in good shape. Then in the offseason, I put in a lot of effort. I'm starting to see things go in the direction I want. I think it's the kind of thing that builds up slowly. All of a sudden, there were a lot of games won in Adelaide. Then come here. I felt like the win over Iga [Swiatek] the other night was really a big breakthrough and I felt ...... I always believed I could do it, but in that way, I thought to myself, I can definitely win on Saturday. ”

Speaking about his mindset and thoughts in the final stages of the final, Case said: "At the end of the race, I felt like I was almost trying to get ahead of her [Sabalenka]. If I hadn't taken the initiative, I knew she would. It really pushes me to be more precise about opportunities. I've always told myself to be brave, to try, to put everything out of the way. At that time, no matter what happens, if I do it, then I can be proud of myself. This makes everything a little easier. ”

"I think for a long time, I had the idea in my mind that people could ignore their nervousness, their doubts, and all that they could focus on tennis. In the past, if I was nervous or something, I usually didn't play as well. So it got to the point where whenever I was nervous, I thought, oh no, I'm going to play badly. This almost triggers panic in the heart. For some reason, it was as if I had suddenly opened my mind, and I began to really believe that I could be nervous and at the same time play tennis. That is, the two can coexist. So instead of resisting, no longer trying to push those feelings away, no longer pretending they don't exist, but accepting them, and really telling myself that these feelings are okay, that it's normal, that I can still play tennis. I feel like doing this day in and day out, accepting that discomfort, accepting that you're going to be nervous, accepting that there will be thousands of people looking at you, but you can still do it, and then really starting to be able to do that, and that starts to give me more confidence. ”

"There is a bias against psychotherapy in general, not just in sports, but I feel like that's slowly disappearing. I feel like everyone should go to psychotherapy and I think it helps. I feel like no matter what, no matter what's going on in your life, there will always be tough moments and you need someone to talk to. I think that's very important. It's something I'll continue to do for the rest of my life. I think if more people do it, more people talk about it, then it will become a norm. It's like you go to the doctor, and no one is going to make a fuss about it. I think for most people, it's very necessary. ”

"I really grew up on the tour. I grew up with some other amazing people on the tour. Some of my closest friends are also playing. So I think we're both very good at cheering each other on. Their victory is like our own. So it's really great to be in a really winning position and they come and cheer me on because for all these years it's been like I've won like I've been watching my friends do so well. So I'm glad I can repay the friendship. ”

(Text: Felix)