WTA Finals
Linda Nosková beat Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday 10 November to become the first player into the semi-finals at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells. Earlier in the day Jessica Pegula beat Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 7-5, which knocked Kostyuk out and leaves Gauff and Pegula to fight for the second semi-final place from Group 1 on Thursday.
Nosková Breaks Gauff Five Times
Nosková, the Wimbledon champion, won in 75 minutes and did most of the damage on return. She broke Gauff five times, four of them in the first set, and won 18 of the 24 points played on Gauff’s second serve. She led 4-1 in both sets, won five games in a row to take the first set and go 3-0 up in the second, and finished with an ace on match point, her ninth of the match.
At 21, she is the youngest player to reach the semi-finals on her WTA Finals debut since Petra Kvitová in 2011, and the first No. 8 seed to win her first two round-robin matches since Anett Kontaveit in 2021. It was her second win over Gauff this season, after Madrid, and it levels their head-to-head at 2-2. Gauff said afterwards that she wished she had started serving better, because Nosková kept serving with a break in hand.
Pegula Bounces Back, Kostyuk Is Out
Pegula needed to win after her three-set loss to Gauff on Sunday, and she won the first nine points of the match. She took the first set 6-2 in half an hour and in the second set a Kostyuk double fault gave her the break for 6-5, after which she served out the match in an hour and 29 minutes. Kostyuk had won both of their meetings earlier in 2026, in Brisbane and Madrid, but served nine double faults on Tuesday, 15 across her two matches in Indian Wells. She has been recovering from a right wrist injury and said her opening match on Sunday was only her second pain-free day.
With two straight-sets losses, Kostyuk can no longer reach the semi-finals, although she still plays her final group match against Gauff.
The Groups After Three Days
| Group 1 | W-L | Group 2 | W-L |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linda Nosková (qualified) | 2-0 | Aryna Sabalenka | 1-0 |
| Coco Gauff | 1-1 | Mirra Andreeva | 1-0 |
| Jessica Pegula | 1-1 | Elina Svitolina | 0-1 |
| Marta Kostyuk (out) | 0-2 | Karolína Muchová | 0-1 |
The top two in each group reach the semi-finals.
Group 1 on Thursday
Group 1 finishes on Thursday 12 November with Pegula against Nosková, a rematch of this year’s Berlin final, and Gauff against Kostyuk. Nosková leads Pegula 3-1 in their head-to-head, and Gauff leads Kostyuk 4-2. Gauff needs to beat Kostyuk to stay in the race for the last semi-final place in the group, which will go to her or Pegula.
Group 2 Tonight
Group 2 plays its second round on Wednesday 11 November, with Elina Svitolina against Karolína Muchová at 8pm UK time, followed by Aryna Sabalenka against Mirra Andreeva. Svitolina leads Muchová 3-1, and Sabalenka leads Andreeva 4-2, although Andreeva won their last meeting, the 2025 Indian Wells final, on the same courts. According to the WTA, the scenarios are:
- If Sabalenka and Muchová win, Sabalenka goes through as group winner, Svitolina is out, and Muchová and Andreeva play for second place on Friday.
- If Andreeva and Svitolina win, Andreeva goes through as group winner, Muchová is out, and Svitolina and Sabalenka play for second place on Friday.
- Sabalenka also goes through if she wins in straight sets and Svitolina wins in three, and Andreeva goes through if she wins in straight sets and Muchová wins in three.
The semi-finals are on Saturday 14 November and the final on Sunday 15 November. The WTA Finals are live on Sky Sports Tennis and NOW in the UK; our live-stream guide has the details, and the results from the first two days are in our day two report.