On the morning of January 26 (Vietnam time), defending champion Madison Keys lost to compatriot Jessica Pegula with a score of 3-6, 4-6 in a match held at Rod Laver Arena. This defeat officially made Keys the former champion of the first Grand Slam of the year, and also opened a new race for the Australian Open 2026 women's singles title.
Entering the match as the No. 9 seed and the defending champion, Keys is expected to continue his journey to defend the throne. However, the 30-year-old player soon encountered many difficulties against Pegula's solid, fast and stable playing style. Right in the first set, Pegula entered the game confidently, winning an early break to create a great advantage in terms of game and psychology.
Although Keys tried to adjust her playing style and at times regained the break, mistakes in key situations prevented her from reversing the situation, accepting a 3-6 loss in set 1. In set 2, Keys actively pushed up the tempo to put pressure on the opponent, but the instability continued to cost her when she lost the break in the first serve game.
Meanwhile, Pegula showed bravery and competition experience when maintaining the remaining serve games, closing the match after two sets. This victory helped the American player reach the Australian Open quarterfinals for the fourth time in his career.
The elimination of Madison Keys means that the women's singles Australian Open 2026 will definitely have a new champion. The prominent candidates for this year's title include Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina.
In other events, defending champions such as Jannik Sinner (men's singles), Harri Heliovaara/Henry Patten (men's doubles), Katerina Siniakova/Taylor Townsend (women's doubles) and Olivia Gadecki/John Peers (women's doubles) are still competing in the tournament.
