Madison Keys has recently expressed light-hearted frustration and sarcasm towards Jessica Pegula, as she was unable to play in the 2026 ATX Open, a WTA 250 tournament, due to the ranking and entry rules.
Madison Keys Annoyed on Missing Her ATX Open Spot
As the 250 tournament only allows one Top 10 player to compete, Keys lost her spot both in 2025 and this year, as Pegula took it because she was ranked higher than her.
Keys began her season with impressive performances, reaching the quarterfinal spot in both the Brisbane International and the Adelaide International. She then fell short in defending her Australian Open women’s singles title, reaching the fourth round, and has missed the entire Middle East Swing.
She is now returning to the court with the WTA 1000 tournament, the BNP Paribas Open, which will be held from March 4 to 15 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. She will be competing as the 15th seed, along with top seed Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Świątek, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Pegula, and others.
During the recent episode of ‘The Player’s Box‘ podcast, the billionaire heiress recalled a comment expressing how Keys would be “absolutely livid” as Pegula took the spot in Austin and then withdrew after winning the title in Dubai due to a left knee injury, with Keys being unable to compete again.
To which the 2025 Australian Open champion added, “Oh yeah, freaking pissed that you won Dubai and then pulled out. So once again, I’m the victim, and we’ll have to think of some way that you can make it up to me. But yeah, so livid. Just can’t even sleep at night. Just furious. So, almost so livid we can’t even speak about it.”
In an earlier podcast episode, Keys explained that, because Pegula was higher in the rankings, she earned this year’s spot to play in the ATX Open. She also shared that she was looking for a wildcard entry but couldn’t get one because the tournament’s deadline had passed while she was in the Top 10 during the 2026 Australian Open.
She had added, “It messed up all of the entries. I was so mad, I was rage emailing/texting the WTA because this doesn’t make any sense. One year, I get screwed because I did too well. The next year, I’m trying to go to a tournament again, and somehow I’m penalized for being too good, but also five days later, I’m going to drop out of the Top 10. That makes no sense to me.”
Pegula had won the ATX Open last year after defeating McCartney Kessler in straight sets, and this year, American star Peyton Stearns took home the title after surpassing Taylor Townsend.
