Madison Keys, slated to be the No. 2 seed in San Jose, withdrew less than an hour before she was slated to take the court for the first time, saying in a statement that recent right wrist pain had not abated.
Keys, the defending champion of the Premier event, made her announcement as the previous match on the stadium court was nearing its conclusion. Ajla Tomljanovic will instead play lucky loser Magdalena Frech.
“I have been feeling pain in my wrist over the last couple of days and felt worse today,” Keys said in the statement. “This event is one of my favorites and I was looking forward to playing here in San Jose.”
The American’s late withdrawal is another blow to the tournament, which lost No. 1 seed Garbiñe Muguruza to a withdrawal of her own hours before she was to play Victoria Azarenka on Wednesday. Serena Williams, meanwhile, lasted less than an hour on court in her 6-1, 6-0 loss to Johanna Konta. Venus Williams, who opens play Thursday night, and Elise Mertens are the only top 20 players remaining.
Keys, meanwhile, is slated to begin her summer hard court swing a week late in Montreal. The defending US Open runner-up and French Open semifinalist continues her struggles with wrist problems, though she had primarily dealt with left wrist issues; she missed extended time on multiple occasions in 2017 due to surgeries.
Her last tour match was a shocking defeat to Evgeniya Rodina in the fourth round of Wimbledon. Unable to defend her points from last year, she is slated to drop one spot in the rankings to No. 13.
“I am excited to come back next year and play in front of (San Jose’s) great fans,” she said.
