Australian Open champion Madison Keys is not capable of play at a WTA match within the U.S. in February, after her success in Melbourne made her too extremely ranked to enter.
Keys, who rose to world No. 7 after profitable her first Grand Slam title, had entered the WTA 250-level ATX Open in Austin, Tex., which begins February 24. The American entered the match as world No. 21, with fellow American Jessica Pegula coming into as world No. 6.
However below WTA guidelines, 250-level tournaments (the bottom degree on the primary tour) are solely permitted to characteristic one top-10 participant within the WTA rankings, except the defending champion returns with a top-10 rating. Keys’ run on the Australian Open, through which she beat world No. 2 Iga Swiatek and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in consecutive matches, subsequently makes her ineligible to enter the match.
ATX Open match director Christo Van Rensburg confirmed Keys’ enforced withdrawal in a press release: “We love Madison and have been anticipating for months the joy of her taking part in right here in Austin for the primary time.
“Whereas we want the Prime 10 rule didn’t apply to our match, we respect the foundations of the WTA.”
The ATX Open is in the identical week because the Merida Open in Mexico, which is a WTA 500 occasion. In response to the 2025 WTA Rulebook:
“A WTA 250 Match in the identical week as a WTA 500 Match might settle for just one (1) participant whose WTA Singles Rating is 1-10 on the Match’s Major Draw entry deadline.”
Gamers ranked beneath Keys will be unable to win sufficient factors earlier than the beginning of the match to overhaul her, and he or she can not lose sufficient rating factors to fall outdoors the highest 10.
Her stand up the rankings comes on the again of a 12-match win streak, with the American profitable the WTA 500 in Adelaide forward of the Australian Open, beating Pegula within the remaining. The rule will deprive followers in Austin of seeing America’s most up-to-date Grand Slam winner.
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Madison Keys fulfils her tennis future on a breezy night time in Melbourne
The top of the Australian Open has additionally introduced a slew of ATP withdrawals unrelated to rankings guidelines. Males’s singles champion Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the ATP 500 occasion in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, citing the necessity to relaxation after his win over Alexander Zverev. World No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov and world No. 16 Jack Draper have additionally withdrawn from the occasion, which begins February 3, whereas Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from Serbia’s Davis Cup qualifier in opposition to Denmark after tearing his hamstring in opposition to Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic defeated Alcaraz, earlier than retiring from his semifinal in opposition to Zverev after shedding the primary set.
(Picture: William West / AFP through Getty Photographs)