Organisers at next month’s Australian Open have suffered a double setback following the withdrawal of two high profile players from the men’s and women’s draw.
World No. 8 Madison Keys will miss the Melbourne event following arthroscopic surgery on her left wrist. The American underwent the ‘minor’ procedure three days after her debut at the WTA Finals in Singapore in October and has decided to skip the upcoming major to focus on fully recovering before she returns to the WTA Tour.
“The bad news is that I will not be ready to play at the Australian Open.” Said Keys. “Three days after the year-end WTA Championships I have minor Arthroscopic Surgery on my left wrist; the procedure was very short, did not involve any tendon issues, and went very well.”
It was at the Australian Open where Keys enjoyed her first breakthrough in a major tournament by reaching the semifinals of the 2015 Championships. This year the 21-year-old won her second WTA title in Birmingham, Great Britain and reached the finals at two Premier tournaments in Italy and Canada.
Next year Keys will be once again guided by former world No.1 Lindsay Davenport after confirming a reunion with her. Davenport also coached the top-10 player throughout the 2015 season alongside her husband Jon Leach.
“I am very excited about working with Lindsay again as she’s helped me reach great results in the past and we make an excellent team.” Keys said about Davenport’s reappointment.
Keys is currently the youngest player ranked inside the top 20 on the WTA Tour.
Del Potro out
Another notable absence from the Australian major will be Juan Martin del Potro, who has decided to extend his off-season and skip the event. The former US Open champion recently cast doubts about his ability to play at the tournament amid concerns regarding his fitness levels. Del Potro was also scheduled to play in New Zealand at the ASB Classic, who published a statement following his decision.
“Del Potro confirmed via his management team overnight that he has not had sufficient recovery time and will be withdrawing from the ASB Classic and the Australian Open,” the statement said.
“Contrary to communications with his team, the Argentinian had had personal doubts over his fitness. He made those clear to tournament director Karl Budge late on Friday night, offering his regrets that he would no longer be able to play the ASB Classic.”
In what has been a stellar return to the tour since a severe wrist injury, Del Potro finished off his year by becoming one of the driving forces behind Argentina’s first ever Davis Cup title. On the tour the former US Open champion has risen over 1000 places since his comeback in February, winning his first ATP title since 2014 at the Stockholm Open. In the majors, he reached the quarter-finals at the US Open in what was his best performance in New York since 2012.
Sidelined from action due to injury in recent years, Del Potro hasn’t participated in the Australian Open since his second round exit in 2014.
