Coco Gauff won her final match at the 2026 WTA Finals — but it wasn't enough. The 2024 champion rallied past Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 7-5 on Thursday in Indian Wells, before watching her season come to a close hours later.
Gauff needed Linda Nosková to beat Jessica Pegula in the day's second Group 1 match. Instead, Pegula won, leaving three players at 2-1 and sending Pegula through on percentage of sets won.
Coco Gauff Erases 5-1 Deficit Against Marta Kostyuk
Gauff took the opening set but fell behind 3-0 in the second. She called a medical timeout and later worked with a trainer on lower-back tightness.
Kostyuk stretched her lead to 5-1. Gauff then won the final six games, closing out the match despite nine double faults.
"I don't even know how I came back from 5-1," Gauff said afterward with a laugh.
Kostyuk, who entered the year-end tournament after top-seeded Elena Rybakina withdrew, finished 0-3.
Coco Gauff's Season Ends Despite Late Rally
Gauff's lopsided Tuesday loss to Nosková proved costly in the tiebreaker math. The defeat left the No. 4 seed with a worse set record than Pegula, even after beating her compatriot in the WTA Finals opener.
Nosková, who clinched her spot earlier in the week, joins Pegula in the semifinals.
