Coco Gauff remains in the race for the WTA Finals knockout stages despite suffering a shock loss to Linda Noskova.
Noskova defeated Gauff 6-3, 6-3 in Indian Wells to become the first semifinalist at the year-end tournament. Making her debut at the WTA Finals, Noskova also beat Marta Kostyuk in straight sets in her opening match.
Meanwhile, Gauff beat Jessica Pegula in her first match of the event, and now needs to achieve the same feat against Kostyuk to join Noskova in the semifinals. But given the format, the American superstar is also dependent on results elsewhere in Group 1.
She was understandably upset by her latest setback, after which she expressed frustration at the current WTA Finals format. But Gauff is arguably way off with her comments, which involved labelling her current predicament in Indian Wells “stupid”.
The round robin format rewards commanding victories, with players ranked based on the number of sets they have won or lost if they are tied on wins after three matches. Failing that, it comes down to the number of games they have won or lost.
Gauff said of the format after losing to Noskova: “The scenarios, I know they make sense, but they’re kind of stupid. I know it’s like the point thing, all of the sets and all of that.
“But it’s like I’m just trying to win a match and if I win my match [Thursday] and I still don’t qualify, I’m like, ‘It’s okay, it’s cool.’ I’m looking forward to next year. I can’t say much, but everybody knows that has to change.”
Gauff may have inadvertently revealed a format change for next year, but that would definitely be a mistake from the powers that be. First and foremost, the round robin format is what makes the WTA Finals so unique. It’s exciting and entertaining, and incidentally is always going to throw up intriguing scenarios like it has this year.
Gauff could be on the receiving end of an unfortunate scenario this time around, whereby she could beat Kostyuk and still go home if Pegula beats Noskova. Another intriguing scenario involves the Czech ace, with not many fans having expected eighth seed Noskova to claim the first semifinal spot.
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It even affords alternates to make the very most of withdrawals, although Kostyuk has bowed out early after replacing top seed Elena Rybakina. However, she can still have a big say for the knockout stage given the format, whereby she still needs to finish her group stage campaign off against Gauff.
Ultimately, the round robin schedule makes the WTA Finals what it is. It’s fun for fans, competitive for players and should motivate them to go all out. And perhaps most importantly, it represents a welcome change from the usual single-elimination format.
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