LONDON — In a tournament full of surprises, Wimbledon added another unexpected outcome on Friday. Madison Keys, who came into the match as the No. 6 seed and this year’s Australian Open champion, faced an unexpected third-round defeat. She was beaten 6-3, 6-3 by Germany’s Laura Siegemund, who is ranked 104th in the world.
With Keys’ departure, only one of the top six women remained in the competition by the end of Week 1: No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. She managed to stay in the tournament by winning the last five games against Britain’s Emma Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, eventually securing the victory 7-6 (6), 6-4 in an electrifying night match at Centre Court.
No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 4 Jasmine Paolini and No. 5 Zheng Qinwen already were out.
The men’s field has also seen its share of surprises, including a Wimbledon record 13 seeds going out in the first round.
“There were moments when the quality wasn’t the best, but what matters is finding solutions, and I think I did that well. I kept my calm towards the end,” Siegemund stated, adding with a chuckle: “Nerves are always present. If you don’t feel them at that moment, it’s like you’re not alive.”
Wimbledon might be the only Grand Slam event where Keys hasn’t reached at least the semifinals, but she has participated in the quarterfinals there twice and is enjoying a breakthrough 2025, including her title at Melbourne Park in January.
Keys’ power vs. Siegemund’s spins and slices offered quite a contrast in styles, and this outcome was surprisingly one-way traffic on a windy afternoon at No. 2 Court.
The key statistic, undoubtedly, was this: Keys made 31 unforced errors, 20 more than Siegemund.
When it ended with one last backhand return from Keys that sailed wide, Siegemund smiled broadly, raised her arms and jumped up and down repeatedly.
“You can’t not be happy when you beat a great player like Madison,” Siegemund said.
How unexpected is this for Siegemund? Before this year, her career record at the All England Club was 2-5, and she’d never made it past the second round. Taking into account all four Grand Slam tournaments, she had reached the third round only once in 28 previous appearances, getting to the quarterfinals at the 2020 French Open.
“There is technically no pressure for me,” said Siegemund, at 37 the oldest woman remaining in the tournament. “I try to remember that I only play for myself. I don’t feel like I need to prove anything anymore. My boyfriend often tells me that.”
On Sunday, the German faces another participant no one could have predicted would be at this stage of the grass-court major: 101st-ranked Solana Sierra of Argentina, who lost in qualifying and made it into the main draw when another player withdrew.
