Former British tennis player and Madison Keys’ friend Laura Robson reveals the American tennis star was doping tested on the same evening of her Australian Open victory.
10 days ago, the 29-year-old became the first player since 2022 to beat Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne after registering a 6-3 2-6 7-5 win.
For Keys, it was just one of her several big wins at this year’s Australian Open as she also beat Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina and Danielle Collins en route to winning the title.
And shortly after her highly impressive Australian Open run came to an end, the new world No. 7 was met by the anti-doping authorities, who wanted her to provide a sample to be tested.
Robson: After giving interviews and all that stuff, Keys was doping tested
“There were so many commitments. To be honest, I didn’t know that there were that many commitments because she went and did all the TV stuff straight away,” the former British tennis star told Express-Sport.
“Then she came back, then had anti-doping, which is just a spanner in the works, because you just don’t know how long it’s going to take you to need to go!
“And then had to do all the press conference and everything, so, yeah, I think we ended up leaving around 2 in the morning.”
Madison Keys© Australian Open/Instagram – Fair Use
Over the last six months, there has been a lot of talk about the anti-doping programme in tennis.
In the aftermath of the Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek cases, several players publicly came out and revealed that they regularly meet the anti-doping officials.
With that being said, it shouldn’t be surprising that Keys was tested shortly after the biggest win of her career.
Meanwhile, the American tennis star was slated to return to action next week in Doha but she has withdrawn from the tournament because she feels she needs more rest.
Tennis World USA