Madison Keys had a tough home slam, exiting the third round in tears after blowing a 5-0 lead in the deciding set against Qinwen Zheng, one of two identical comebacks Zheng pulled off during that run. Now, weeks later, she has withdrawn from the China Open, joining Alex Eala, who pulled out of the same event to represent the Philippines at the Asian Games instead, on the sidelines of a WTA 1000 tournament that was set to feature the entire top 10 of the women’s game.

Keys’ press conference after that US Open loss offered a preview of what was coming. 

“I just feel like I’ve kind of been struggling for a while now, and I feel like I was able to kind of play through it for a bit,” she said at the time. “I’m sure everyone could kind of see that I was struggling a little bit, but inside it felt probably even bigger than that. Some weeks are easier than others, and this week is obviously one of the harder ones just because you care so much. Yeah, I’m going to have to make some sort of changes.”

The fallout from that press conference did not end there either. During the following days, she was also subjected to an unrelated, and ever more persistent, barrage of speculation about her pregnancy with husband and coach Bjorn Fratangelo. 

“If people could stop assuming and or asking me if I am pregnant, that would be super fun,” she said on the Player’s Box podcast. “That’s like the number one comment I keep getting, post US Open.” 

After such a taxing US Open run, with all the things that happened on the court and off the court extended well past the scoreline. The former world No. 2 Paula Badosa will replace Keys in the China Open draw. 

The withdrawal even means that she loses a chance to set her record straight at an event which has not been that kind to her in the past. Keys’ only notable run at the China Open came back in 2016, when she reached the semifinal of the event, losing Johanna Konta in three sets. Her last appearance was in 2024 when she made it to the fourth round before losing to former world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Eala’s withdrawal complication along with others

Eala’s own absence carries complications, as the China Open is a mandatory WTA 1000, and skipping a mandatory event without an approved exemption is met with a ranking penalty and a fine. However, as she will be on national duty at the Asian Games, her request might be approved, and if the penalty is imposed, then the Philippine government will take care of it. 

The full withdrawal list stretches well beyond those two. World No. 14 Victoria Mboko, No. 37 Hailey Baptiste, No. 46 Karolina Pliskova, No. 55 Zhang Shuai, No. 56 Jacqueline Cristian, and No. 97 Emma Raducanu have all pulled out, alongside American McCartney Kessler, who announced she is ending her season early after what she called a “physically demanding” 2026 campaign.  

Even Elena Rybakina, fresh off her US Open title and new world No. 1 ranking, has been dealing with ongoing Achilles issues that already forced her out of this week’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals, though she has not withdrawn from Beijing as of now.

The extensive list of absentees hasn’t affected the tournament’s true quality. Runner-up Aryna Sabalenka, with fellow top-five players Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, and Mirra Andreeva, also entered, joined by Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova and six-time major winner Iga Swiatek.