WTA Finals
Coco Gauff and Linda Nosková won their opening matches at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells on Sunday 8 November. Gauff beat Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2 after missing a match point in the second set, and Nosková beat Marta Kostyuk, the late replacement for Elena Rybakina, 6-2, 6-4.
Gauff Resets After a Missed Match Point
Gauff broke in the last game of the first set and led 5-1 in the second, but Pegula fought back, saved a match point at 5-6 and won a high-quality tie-break to force a decider. Gauff broke in the first game of the third set, went 3-0 up and pulled away in two hours and 39 minutes. She said afterwards that staying level after losing the match point was the difference.
It was Gauff’s third straight win over Pegula, all of them in 2026, and it puts her ahead 6-5 in their head-to-head. Gauff, the 2024 champion, is playing her fifth WTA Finals in a row, the youngest player to do that since Martina Hingis in 1996 to 2000.
Nosková Handles the Late Change
Nosková found out on Saturday that her opponent would be Kostyuk rather than Rybakina, who withdrew with a viral illness. She kept the points short, took the first set in just over half an hour and, once she broke for 4-2 in the second, did not drop serve again. The Wimbledon champion won in an hour and 26 minutes on her WTA Finals debut. It was her third win in a row over Kostyuk this year, after Wimbledon and the US Open, and she now leads their head-to-head 3-1.
Kostyuk had lost her last four matches before Indian Wells and missed the Billie Jean King Cup final in September with a right wrist injury. She said she had been in pain for three months and was simply happy to be back on court.
Group 1 After Day One
| Player | Won | Lost |
|---|---|---|
| Coco Gauff | 1 | 0 |
| Linda Nosková | 1 | 0 |
| Jessica Pegula | 0 | 1 |
| Marta Kostyuk | 0 | 1 |
The top two in each group reach the semi-finals.
What’s Next
All times are UK time. Indian Wells is eight hours behind.
| Day | Time (UK) | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 9 November | 8pm | Aryna Sabalenka v Karolína Muchová (Group 2) |
| Monday 9 November | Second match | Mirra Andreeva v Elina Svitolina (Group 2) |
| Tuesday 10 November | 8pm | Marta Kostyuk v Jessica Pegula (Group 1) |
| Tuesday 10 November | Second match | Coco Gauff v Linda Nosková (Group 1) |
Gauff leads Nosková 2-1, though Nosková won their only meeting of 2026, in Madrid. The WTA Finals are live on Sky Sports Tennis and NOW in the UK; our live-stream guide has the details, and the WTA Finals hub follows every result through to the final on 15 November.