Jessica Pegula led Coco Gauff 5-1 in the second set of their opening match at the WTA Finals on Sunday. She lost the next five games, saved a match point, won the set in a tiebreak and then lost the third 6-2. On Tuesday, her week in Indian Wells could be over by the end of the day.
Group 1 plays its second round today. Marta Kostyuk plays Pegula first, then Gauff plays Linda Noskova. Noskova and Gauff are both 1-0. Noskova beat Kostyuk 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday, a day after Kostyuk was called into the field to replace the ill Elena Rybakina. Every change to the field is on our WTA Finals 2026 withdrawals page.
Noskova. A straight-sets win over Gauff puts her in the semifinals, whatever happens in the first match. A three-set win is also enough if Kostyuk beats Pegula, and in that case Noskova is certain to win the group.
Gauff. Gauff goes through as group winner if she beats Noskova and Pegula beats Kostyuk. A win over Noskova does not settle it on its own. If Kostyuk also wins, three players could still finish on two wins after Thursday.
Pegula. She is out tonight if Kostyuk beats her and Noskova beats Gauff. Any other combination keeps her alive for Thursday, even a loss to Kostyuk.
Kostyuk. A straight-sets loss to Pegula ends Kostyuk‘s week. A loss in three sets keeps her alive only if Noskova beats Gauff, because the set she took could count in a three-way tie for second place.
Thursday. The last round pairs Noskova with Pegula and Gauff with Kostyuk. If Noskova and Kostyuk both win today, Noskova goes through as group winner, Pegula is eliminated, and Gauff and Kostyuk play for second place. If Gauff and Pegula both win, Gauff takes the group, Kostyuk is eliminated, and Noskova plays Pegula for second.
How ties are broken. Wins count first, then matches played. Two players level on wins are separated by their head-to-head result; three are separated by percentage of sets won, then percentage of games won. Each step is set out in our explainer on WTA Finals round-robin tiebreakers, and the rules that brought Kostyuk in as first alternate are in our guide to WTA Finals alternates.
The form. Kostyuk arrived on a five-match losing run that included a retirement in Ningbo. She has played with a right wrist injury since the hard-court swing in North America and has been “in pain every day for three months,” she said. She has still won both of her meetings with Pegula this year, in Brisbane and Madrid, in straight sets, although Pegula leads their head-to-head 4-3. Gauff leads Noskova 2-1, but Noskova won their only match this year, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5) on clay in Madrid, and the two have not played each other on a hard court in three years.
The doubles. In the doubles group playing today, Cristina Bucsa and Nicole Melichar-Martinez reach the semifinals with a straight-sets win over Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini. Ellen Perez and Demi Schuurs are eliminated if they lose to Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend in straight sets.
What it means. Each group winner plays the runner-up of the other group in the semifinals. In Group 2, Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova 7-6(2), 7-5 and Mirra Andreeva beat Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-0 on Monday, and Sabalenka plays Andreeva next. Dates, format and prize money are in our WTA Finals guide, and every past champion is in our list of the most WTA Finals titles.
