Tennis - Eastbourne International - Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne, Britain - June 22, 2022 Madison Keys of the U.S. in action during her third round match against Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers
LONDON (Reuters) - Former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Madison Keys has withdrawn from the grasscourt Grand Slam due to an abdominal injury, the American 19th seed said on Saturday.
Wimbledon said the 27-year-old has been replaced by fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe in the draw.
"This isn't what I was hoping to say a few days before @Wimbledon, but unfortunately I have to withdraw due to an abdominal injury," world number 24 Keys tweeted.
"I'm so disappointed, but my health comes first and my body needs time to get back to 100%. Lots of love London fans. See you next year."
Keys' injury flared up during her last-16 meeting with Jelena Ostapenko in Eastbourne earlier this week, forcing the tournament's 2014 champion to seek treatment while trailing 5-2 in the first set against her Latvian opponent.
But she was eventually forced to stop the match after losing the set 6-3 due to the problem.
Former world number seven Keys won her first title since 2019 at the Adelaide WTA tournament in January before reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Her deep run in Melbourne came after she won only 11 matches last year in a season when she slipped out of the top 50, the 26-year-old saying her performance made her sink into a "dark pit of despair".
Keys was defeated in the French Open fourth round by Russia's Veronika Kudermetova last month.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
