Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty ImagesPeter LynchThu, January 15, 2026 at 9:30 PM UTC·2 min read

Victoria Mboko has stormed into the semifinals of the Adelaide International after knocking out Keys.

Mboko defeated Australian Open champion Keys 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 tournament.

The Canadian now meets Australian Kimberly Birrell, who was helped earlier in the event by Marketa Vondrousova’s Adelaide withdrawal.

Keys was the second seed at the Adelaide International, a tournament she won in 2025 before clinching the Australian Open title.

Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty ImagesVictoria Mboko ‘glad’ to beat Australian Open champion Madison Keys

Mboko discussed the victory afterwards, saying of the match: “Yeah, well, it’s not easy playing a top-10 player.

“Of course, going into the match I knew Madi was going to be very difficult to play, so I wanted to bring my A game. I just stayed really focused from the beginning.

“She had her moments. I had my moments. But at the end of the day I was glad I was able to pull out the win and get the job done.”

Mboko was also asked if she thought she was the one controlling the tempo of the match, to which she replied: “Actually, not really.

“I feel like she hits a pretty heavy ball, and pretty hard. I felt like I was kind of trying to stay in there with her as much as I can, that was my mentality at least.

“She hits a pretty strong ball, and all I was thinking in that moment was just to try to stay low and try to redirect as much as I could, and try to, yeah, either make her miss first or have a good opportunity to take control.”

Photo by Robert Prange/Getty ImagesVictoria Mboko handed ideal Adelaide test before Australian Open

It’s certainly a blow for Keys, who will have been keen for one big confidence booster before entering the Australian Open.

But she does, of course, have that superb 2025 title to motivate her in Melbourne, where she will start against Oleksandra Oliynykova.

And while Mboko will be firmly focused on going all the way in Adelaide, she may have one eye on her opener at the Australian Open.

The 19-year-old Canadian, who is already a two-time WTA champion, will take on Australian hopeful Emerson Jones in round one.

Jones will likely have the full backing of the Australian Open crowd, but Mboko now has the perfect chance to emulate that scenario with her Adelaide semifinal against Birrell.

READ MORE: Ex-Grand Slam winner survives qualifying to book Australian Open spot