Madison Keys withdraws from Madrid Open hours before opener due to illness

Madison Keys pulled out of the Madrid Open on Friday, April 24, because of illness, hours before her first match in the main draw. (wtatennis.com) Keys was the No. 16 seed and had received a first-round bye into the second round, where she was scheduled to face Zhang Shuai at La Caja Mágica. (wtatennis.com 1) (wtatennis.com 2) Anastasia Potapova entered the draw as a lucky loser in Keys’ place and beat Zhang 6-3, 6-1 to move into the third round. (wtatennis.com) (english.news.cn) The withdrawal came at the start of the European clay swing, with Madrid serving as one of the biggest Women’s Tennis Association 1000 events before Rome and the French Open. (wtatennis.com) (justwomenssports.com) Keys’ exit was part of a broader run of seeded withdrawals in the women’s field. The WTA said Clara Tauson also withdrew with a shoulder injury. (wtatennis.com) Earlier in the week, No. 6 seed Amanda Anisimova withdrew with a wrist injury and No. 12 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova pulled out with a lower back injury. (wtatennis.com) The WTA said Anisimova was replaced by Magdalena Frech and Alexandrova by Maria Sakkari, with both replacements taking seeded spots and first-round byes. (wtatennis.com) Keys arrived in Madrid as the 2025 Australian Open champion, and her withdrawal delays her first clay-court event of the season. (justwomenssports.com) Madrid continues through May 3, and the women’s draw now moves on without four seeded players who were originally slotted into the bracket. (wtatennis.com)