"But she went and signed autographs" - Fans baffled by 'virus' claim after Madison Keys refuses to shake hands with Amanda Anisimova at WTA Finals

Madison Keys refused to shake Amanda Anisimova's hand following the conclusion of their group stage clash at the 2025 WTA Finals. Keys told Anisimova that she wasn't feeling well. Subsequently, the reigning Australian Open champion also chose to not shake the chair umpire's hand. However, several tennis fans wondered why Keys stayed back to sign autographs if she was indeed down with some sort of a contagious illness.

On Monday, November 3, Keys and Anisimova's all-American encounter in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, went the distance. Ultimately, it was Anisimova who came out on top with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win. In the immediate aftermath of the match's conclusion, Keys avoided shaking the hands of both Anisimova and the chair umpire.

Later, tennis journalist Jose Morgado took to X (formerly Twitter) and suggested that Madison Keys was most likely suffering from a viral infection. Morgado also predicted Keys' withdrawal from the 2025 WTA Finals and Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva being called up to play in her place against Elena Rybakina in the final round of group stage matches.

"Keys asks to not handshake Anisimova. She probably got some sort of virus. Won't be surprising to see Andreeva play the dead rubber vs. Rybakina in two days...," Morgado wrote.

Many tennis fans on X questioned Madison Keys' decision to play against Amanda Anisimova at the 2025 WTA Finals if she knew beforehand about her potentially contagious viral illness.

"But she went and signed autographs," one fan wrote. "She does know that the balls they play with are touched by Amanda too and even the poor ball kids 😅. If she does have something everyone has it now already," commented another. "But they been playing with those tennis balls all dis time...tossing them...catching them," another fan weighed in. "Then why was she signing tennis balls after for fans?," questioned one. "Don’t let her near Rybakina 😭 Elena is finally playing some good tennis. we can’t afford any viruses," a fan of the Kazakh added. "She didn’t feel well enough to shake but well enough to touch the tennis balls?," weighed in yet another fan.

"Madison Keys was playing some unreal tennis" - Amanda Anisimova after defeating compatriot in WTA Finals 2025 group stage

Amanda Anisimova in action at the 2025 WTA Finals (Source: Getty)

In her post-match interview, Amanda Anisimova, without giving away too much, reflected on how she had to adjust her game to compete with Madison Keys after losing the first set. Acknowledging Keys' powerful and aggressive style of play, Anisimova said:

"I don’t want to give too many secrets away. But I had to make a few adjustments for sure. I tried not to go for it as much as I was in the beginning. Maddie’s a big hitter and she was playing some unreal tennis."

Amanda Anisimova's victory against Madison Keys keeps her hopes of reaching the semifinals in Riyadh alive. Whether she does end up reaching the last four or not will be decided by her result against Iga Swiatek in the final round of group stage matches. Only Elena Rybakina has secured progress to the semis so far from the Serena Williams Group.

Edited by Sudipto Pati