Madison Keys is one of the biggest names in American tennis. The tennis world was shocked when she unexpectedly pulled out of her second-round match at the Madrid Open, following a massive health scare at the tournament. Recently, she revealed the entire story behind what actually happened one night before.
Madison Keys Opens Up on Her Madrid Open Withdrawal and Health Situation
Despite mixed results since the beginning of the 2026 season, Keys is in the WTA Top 20 list, presently occupying the 17th position. She is currently the fifth-ranked American woman, right behind the teenage sensation Iva Jovic.
After receiving a direct entry to the second round, thanks to her ranking, Keys was set to face the Chinese star Zhang Shuai, who secured a first-round victory against Eva Lys. However, the match was canceled as the American pulled out of the tournament, citing illness. She was replaced by lucky loser Anastasia Potapova.
In the latest episode of the Player’s Box Podcast, co-hosted by good friends and professional players Jessica Pegula, Keys, Jennifer Brady, and Desirae Krawczyk, Keys opened up on her situation. She revealed, “I got food poisoning the night before my first round.”
Explaining more about what exactly happened, the World No. 17 added, “The night before my match, I went to dinner and didn’t feel amazing, but was like, ‘Oh, maybe I’m just hungry.’ And then the moment all the food came out, and I made eye contact with the food, I looked at Bjorn, and I said, ‘I need to leave,’ and I speed-walked back to the hotel.”
Just one night before her first match, Keys went out to dinner with her husband and coach, Bjorn Fratangelo, a common practice among players that takes their minds off the stress. However, what was supposed to be a lovely time between the couple turned out to be a nightmare for the American, as she fell victim to the widespread illness, ruling her out of the tournament.
Giving an update on her current situation, Keys added, “And it’s been kind of rough since then,” while reassuring, “but I’m on the mend; I’m surviving.” This little joke from the American confirmed that even though her situation was rough, she is coping with it and doing fine as of now.
This was an unfortunate exit for her, as last year, she defeated Lucia Bronzetti, Anna Kalinskaya, and Donna Vekić on her way to the quarterfinal, where she lost to the second seed, Iga Świątek. Shuai instead faced Anastasia Potapova and suffered a 3-6, 1-6 straight-sets defeat, ending her campaign in Madrid.
Many major players, including Świątek, Coco Gauff, Liudmila Samsonova, Marin Čilić, and others, fell ill during this tournament, hampering their performance. After she retired from the third-round match against Ann Li, the Pole said, “There’s something going on between the players; the virus is somewhere on site.”
As of now, the reason for this massive illness isn’t clear, but Tennis Channel commentator and four-time Grand Slam winner Jim Courier blamed the bad shrimp tacos.
Unfortunately, Gauff is also out of the tournament following her 4-6, 6-1, 6-7(5) defeat against Czech star Linda Nosková. During her third-round match against Sorana Cîrstea, she was visibly struggling but managed to secure the win. For the same reasons, she also pulled out of the doubles draw, where she had teamed up with compatriot Robin Montgomery.
MORE: Madrid Open Health Scare: Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff, and Several Stars Fall Victim to Mystery Illness
On the men’s side, Čilić withdrew less than an hour before his much-anticipated clash against Brazilian sensation João Fonseca, later apologizing on Instagram for his decision. Corentin Moutet, another victim of the virus, posted on Instagram following his straight set loss against Spanish local Daniel Merida Aguilar.
