Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula have a great relationship off the court, but their friendship may now be put to the test.
The potential friction comes as the ATX Open gets underway in Austin, which Pegula had planned to compete in.
But the top seed and defending champion, who just won the Dubai Tennis Championships title, has withdrawn from the WTA 250 tournament due to a left knee injury.
Keys was “mad” at not being able to play in Austin for the second year running, a ruling that came into play because of Pegula’s initial presence there.
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Madison Keys can feel even more aggrieved after Jessica Pegula’s Austin withdrawal
With only one top 10 player allowed to play in the tournament, Keys missed out on a place in the 2025 draw because of a rankings rise following the Australian Open.
She moved into the top 10 after clinching the Grand Slam title in Melbourne, but Pegula’s higher ranking allowed her to take the sole spot.
This year, Keys once again was unable to play in Austin because she was in the top 10 when the deadline closed, despite all concerned parties being well aware of an imminent rankings drop after she failed to defend her Australian Open points.
Again, her fellow American Pegula claimed the only top 10 spot in Texas this year, but she has since withdrawn.
Keys won’t be taking her anger out on her close friend Pegula, but she does have every right to feel even more aggrieved right now.
Madison Keys misses out on fantastic chance to kickstart her season
It’s been an underwhelming start to 2026 for Keys to say the least, although her latest efforts are perhaps unfairly being compared to this time last year.
She won both Adelaide and the Australian Open in 2025, but is now 6-3 in 2026 after falling well short in those tournaments this time around.
The shortcomings have seen Keys drop to 15th in the WTA rankings, well behind her career high of fifth from this date last year.
| Rank | Player | Age | Points |
| 4 | Coco Gauff | 21 | 6803 |
| 5 | Jessica Pegula | 31 | 6768 |
| 6 | Amanda Anisimova | 24 | 6070 |
| 15 | Madison Keys | 31 | 2351 |
| 18 | Iva Jovic | 18 | 2095 |
| 20 | Emma Navarro | 24 | 2045 |
| 39 | Ann Li | 25 | 1333 |
| 40 | Mccartney Kessler | 26 | 1324 |
| 42 | Hailey Baptiste | 24 | 1274 |
| 44 | Sofia Kenin | 27 | 1267 |
But the season is long, and the 10-time champion will undoubtedly still pose a real threat in her upcoming tournaments.
The ATX Open would, however, have been a fantastic opportunity for Keys to really get up and running this season.
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Top seed Pegula has withdrawn, while there have been early exits for wildcards Venus Williams and Bianca Andreescu.
Second seed Iva Jovic is now the top seed at the tournament, at which many of her fellow seeds have already been eliminated.
It wouldn’t have been straightforward, but Keys definitely would have been confident of enjoying a lengthy stay in Texas had she entered.
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