World No. 7 Madison Keys, who did not shake hands with World No. 4 Amanda Anisimova after their group stage match at the 2025 WTA Finals, drew attention from the tennis world. Due to her illness, she declined to shake hands with Anisimova and the chair umpire, which garnered praise from the former professional tennis player, coach, and television commentator Rennae Stubbs for her thoughtfulness.
What Did Rennae Stubbs Reflect on Madison Keys’ Consideration?
Keys made her second appearance at the 2025 WTA Finals, facing losses to Polish sensation Iga Świątek, with a final score of 6-1, 6-2, and to Anisimova, with a set score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. However, at the end of the match, when the players were required to shake hands with the opponent and the chair umpire, Keys sidestepped any contact due to health reasons.
During the recent podcast episode of “The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast,” the Australian icon shared her thoughts on the highly considerate move from the 2025 Australian Open women’s singles champion to avoid contact with individuals due to her illness.
She added, “I think what happens is when you get into the WTA Finals because, you know, you are all together all the time. So, if somebody goes down in the locker room, you attend to a lot of ego down. I am sure there’s a lot of hand washing, there’s a lot of masks being worn.”
While continuing, she mentioned, “If I was a player, I would be preventatively trying to stay away from those players who are sick and clearly Madi Keys (Madison) — that was a classy thing for her to do, because she doesn’t have to care about how Amanda Anisimova does in the next three or four days. But I think that was a classy thing to do, be like ‘Look, you beat me, not happy about it. But I don’t wanna give you what I’ve got.'”
By losing her matches, Keys’ chances of advancing further at the 2025 WTA Finals diminished. According to the WTA, she had withdrawn from her third match due to illness, which was scheduled to be played against Russian-Kazakhstani star Elena Rybakina.
Hence, bidding adieu to her competition at the season-ending championships, which will be held from Nov. 1 to 8, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Her last appearance at the WTA Finals was in 2016 at Kallang, Singapore, where she lost in the group stages.
In Keys’ place, alternate Ekaterina Alexandrova competed, eventually losing to Rybakina with a concluding score of 6-4, 6-4. The latter has won both her matches against Anisimova and Świątek.