Is Madison Keys OK? Why She Suddenly Withdrew From the Madrid Open
What’s going on with Madison Keys?
Published April 24 2026, 10:42 a.m. ET
Pro tennis player Madison Keys abruptly withdrew from the Mutua Madrid Open on April 24, 2026, just before her opening match against Shuai Zhang was about to begin. While this isn’t the first time Keys has withdrawn from a match, as she also pulled out of Wimbledon in 2022 due to an injury, this time around feels a little different.
That’s because she had been seen prior to the match in what appeared to be good health, making it harder for fans to understand why she’d dropped out. Apparently, the reason is linked to her health. So, what’s wrong with Keys?
An update on Madison Keys's health.
Madison Keys’s health got in the way of her competing in the Mutua Madrid Open on April 24, 2026, where she was set to go up against Shuai Zhang, prompting her withdrawal from the event.
It appears Keys came down with an undisclosed illness, which impacted her health enough that she had to step away from the match, per the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). She is currently scheduled to compete next in May 2026 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.
It appears the illness came on suddenly, as her replacement, Anastasia Potapova, said she had been waiting for days and heard nothing, leading her to assume she wouldn’t be competing. “It was actually unexpected because I've been waiting for three days before and nothing happened. Also the last three days, I didn't really prepare myself to play a match,” Potapova told WTA.
She also shared that since she thought she was clear for competing in the match, “I didn't warm up, I didn't do any practices, so today was the first morning when I went early to the stadium. I signed for the early warm-up. Literally when I was warming up on [practice] court, supervisor came [and] said that 'you're going on at first match.' It literally happened at 10:25 am.”
Perhaps Keys was going to try and compete but realized at the last minute that she simply couldn’t do it.
And while she nor any outlets reported on the type of illness she contracted, various reports suggest that other players competing on the WTA Tour have dealt with viral illnesses that have prompted them to step out of the game. Elise Mertens reportedly withdrew from the Miami Open, as did Emma Raducanu after reportedly contracting a respiratory illness. Perhaps Keys has come down with something similar.
Here's a look back at some other injuries and illnesses Madison Keys has struggled with over the years.
For the most part, Keys is an overall healthy athlete, but over her career, she has dealt with injuries and illnesses like most professional sports players. Aside from this recent bout with illness, Keys also dropped out of the 2025 WTA Finals just before her last round-robin match due to illness, according to the official Olympics website.
The year prior, in July 2024, Keys suffered a left hamstring injury during Wimbledon in her match against Jasmine Paolini. The injury forced her to withdraw from the competition despite her being in the lead. However, she was able to return later that season and compete at the US Open.