Madison Keys defeated Amanda Anisimova 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 on July 4, 2026, to advance to the fourth round of Wimbledon 2026 on the tournament’s Centre Court for the first time in her career [1, 2, 3]. The match took place on the Fourth of July, adding to the occasion for the 31-year-old former Australian Open champion and two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist [2, 3].
Despite 11 previous visits to Wimbledon, Keys had never before played on Centre Court. "I'm glad that I finally got to check that off of the list," she said [2]. She recalled the surprise of herself and others after realizing she had never played there before. "Everyone was shocked. I was saying that to (agent) Max (Eisenbud) the other day, and he's like, 'you've been on Centre Court.' I was like, 'no, I actually physically have not.'" [2]
The 26th seed Keys lost the first set to the sixth seed Anisimova but rallied to win the next two sets 6-2, 6-3 [2, 3]. She said, "I was so excited. I was texting our podcast group chat. I was like, 'Guys, I'm going to be on the Centre Court of Wimbledon. This is crazy'" [2]. Her walk down the stairs to take the court was a special moment. "It's funny, just like all these years later when you do the whole walk and down the stairs, I was like, I've never seen this. I kind of kept looking around," she said [2].
Keys added, "I don't know if I would say it was intimidating. It was just really fun for me to ... experience it for the first time. I really kind of took it all in. I was quite literally looking at every single picture on the wall" [2].
Coming into Wimbledon, Keys had prepared by winning the Eastbourne title the week before [2, 3]. Her next opponent will be Czech ninth seed Linda Noskova, scheduled for Monday, July 6, 2026, at Wimbledon [2, 3].
