Aryna Sabalenka got her revenge.

The tennis star from Belarus lost to Madison Keys at the Australian Open in January. It gave the American her first Grand Slam title and she entered Indian Wells last week having not lost a match all year.

But Friday, on Stadium Court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Sabalenka showed why she’s the No. 1 player in the world in a dominating 6-0, 6-1 win over Keys in just 51 minutes in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open.

“I needed this revenge badly, so I was really focused, and I think tactically I played really great tennis,” Sabalenka said. “I would say that today was a bit opposite. I played great at the beginning, and she kind of lost her rhythm and she couldn’t play her best tennis. I think that’s why the match went so fast.

“So, at the Australian (Open), I played really bad and she played great. It’s just tennis. Let’s just call it tennis.”

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Sabalenka will now face teenage rising star Mirra Andreeva on Sunday in the Indian Wells final in a match she jokingly called “kind of like an old mama playing against a kid.” For the record, Sabalenka is 26 to Andreeva’s 17.

With fifth-ranked Keys out of the draw, it extends the streak of an American woman not winning this American tournament since Serena Williams last did it in 2001.

Keys was 18-1 to start the 2025 season and was riding a 16-match win streak. She was 5-0 against top 10 players this season, prior to Friday.

Sabalenka converted on 5-of-6 break point opportunities in the match, and only faced single one, which she saved.

Sabalenka is 16-3 this season, and with her revenge match against Keys, she’s into the final at Indian Wells for the second time in three appearances at Indian Wells.

“I was hungry, and as I said before, that Australian Open match was really heartbroken for me, and I really needed some time to recover after that,” Sabalenka said. “And if I would lose today again, it would get in my head and I didn’t want that to happen. I was really focused, so I was just really hungry to get this win against Madison.”

Andrew John covers the BNP Paribas Open for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected].