WTA Finals: Linda Noskova Beats Coco Gauff

Gauff upset by Noskova at WTA finals

The WTA Finals delivered its biggest upset yet. Noskova was ruthless, Gauff was rattled, and Pegula dug deep to keep her tournament alive all in one dramatic night in Indian Wells.

Noskova stuns Gauff to reach WTA finals semis as Pegula keeps hopes alive... 

The Wimbledon champion stormed into the last four at Indian Wells on Tuesday with a stunning win over Gauff, while Jessica Pegula kept her own challenge alive by beating Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk.

Eighth seed Noskova from Czechia took full advantage of a shaky serving display from Gauff to seal a 6-3, 6-3 victory in Group One and book her spot in the semi-finals.

Noskova broke Gauff four times to take the opening set, then struck with an early break in the second before closing out the win with her ninth ace of the match.

“I'm very happy, obviously every win counts in this competition," Noskova said afterwards. “Coco is a big competitor so I had to be ready for everything that would come my way today.

“You have to play to the very last point with Coco because she can always help herself out with her serve and fighting spirit. I felt like I played great to put some pressure on her,” added Noskova, who defeated Ukraine's Kostyuk in her opening group match on Sunday

The loss leaves Gauff and Pegula fighting it out for the final semi-final spot from Group One.

Pegula, who lost to Gauff in her opener on Sunday, battled through a topsy-turvy second set to beat Kostyuk 6-2, 7-5. Kostyuk is out following Tuesday's defeat.

“I feel like I'm playing well,” Pegula said. “I felt my match against Coco was a super high-level match and that was a great match today.”

Pegula admitted Kostyuk is one of the toughest players to read on court.

“It's so tricky with her because you just don't know what's gonna come  she will just step in and inject pace, she'll come and kamikaze the net, she goes for returns or her serve can get hot. That's what makes it difficult to play her.”

Exceptional 👏 Linda Noskova makes it two from two at FAGE WTA Finals Indian Wells! #FAGEWTAFinals | #TheUltimateStage https://t.co/GdiigSVSqJ

— wta (@WTA) November 10, 2026

The 32-year-old American was in total control early on, breaking Kostyuk in the opening game and again in the seventh to wrap up the first set 6-2.

The second set then descended into chaos, with four breaks in a row before Kostyuk finally managed to hold serve to edge ahead 3-2.

The Ukrainian then had a chance to break again in the following game, but she could not take it as Pegula held firm to level at 3-3.

Our first singles semifinalist! ✅ What a WTA Finals debut this is turning into for Linda Noskova 😮‍💨 #FAGEWTAFinals | #TheUltimateStage https://t.co/HVGIoHOC4h

— wta (@WTA) November 10, 2026

The next four games then stayed with serve, until Pegula finally made the decisive move in the 11th game. She converted her fourth break point to move ahead 6-5, then held her nerve to serve out the match, sealing the win when Kostyuk sent a forehand long.