Odd rule prevents Madison Keys from playing WTA tournament due to Australian Open win
Madison Keys achieved the breakthrough she's waited an entire career for last weekend, winning her first career Grand Slam at the Australian Open. Her reward: a small tournament being forced to cancel her entry.
Due to an odd rule preventing more than one top-10 player participating in a WTA 250 tournament, the ATX Open announced Tuesday that Keys will no longer be eligible to participate in the event. The Austin-based tournament already has No. 6 Jessica Pegula committed to play.
Keys was ranked 21st when she agreed to play the ATX Open and 20th as recently as Jan. 6. However, she has since won both the WTA 500 Adelaide International and the Australian Open, giving her enough points to push her up to seventh in the span of three weeks.
Tournament director Christo van Rensburg lamented the rule while praising Keys in a statement:
"Every year the ATX Open strives to bring some of the top women’s players in the world to Austin to compete in our tournament. This year is no exception. The success of Madison in Australia, where she played legendary tennis on a world stage, is further proof that the ATX Open is attracting the best talent in the game. We love Madison and have been anticipating for months the excitement of her playing here in Austin for the first time.
"While we wish the Top 10 rule didn’t apply to our tournament, we respect the rules of the WTA. That said, Madison’s Grand Slam title and subsequent Top 10 world ranking are both something to celebrate. We can’t wait to invite Madison again to future ATX Opens. We remain very excited to welcome Jessica to her first-ever ATX Open next month. She’s eager to compete in Austin."
The WTA forbids 250 tournaments from booking multiple top 10 players in order to "ensure balanced competition across all WTA events held during the same week," as the ATX Open explains. The ATP, the organization's male counterpart, has no such rule. There is at least an exception allowing defending champions to return even if there's another top 10 player.
In practice, the set-up is not popular, and leaves 250 tournaments lacking in star power. It's rare to find a sports league with rules preventing its most popular players from participating in events, but the WTA apparently prioritizes a balanced schedule that much.
Of course, this is all a price Keys will happily pay for her success last week.
