Coco Gauff Breaks Silence After Retiring with ‘Scary’ Injury Against Alexandra Eala
Alexandra Eala has improved her head-to-head record over Coco Gauff to 1-1 after the latter's arm injury in the Indian Wells third round.
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Coco Gauff, Alexandra Eala (Image via X/ESPN, Game, Set & Talk)
- Coco Gauff retired mid-match against Alexandra Eala due to a left arm injury.
- Gauff described the pain as feeling like "fireworks" in her arm and is awaiting further evaluation.
- Alexandra Eala advanced to the fourth round of Indian Wells for the first time, wishing Gauff a speedy recovery.
Coco Gauff had a disappointing run in the ongoing Indian Wells. On Sunday (March 8), Gauff handed the walkover to Alexandra Eala 6-2, 2-0 after injuring her arm.
The American ace retired mid-match, just the second time in her career. En route to throwing in the towel, Gauff received treatment on her left forearm and shoulder.
I felt it in the second game of the first set. I guess a simple way to put it is that it felt like a firework was going off inside my arm, and then my whole arm felt like it was on fire. We’re going to figure out what it is tomorrow, but based off the feeling, being told that it’s probably something nerve-related.
Coco Gauff told reporters
Gauff’s walkover helped Eala improve the head-to-head record to 1-1. Prior to this match, they met in the quarterfinals of this year’s Dubai Tennis Championships, where Gauff dismantled the Filipino.
And then as the match played, it got progressively worse, even when I wasn’t using my arm on shots that I wasn’t even using my left arm for. It was a feeling like fireworks at times. Yeah, it was a scary feeling, but yeah, I don’t know.
Coco Gauff added
Gauff is a one-time semifinalist at Indian Wells, reaching the stage in 2024 and losing the match to eventual runner-up Maria Sakkari. Last year in the California desert, the 21-year-old suffered a third-round exit. She was chasing her fourth WTA 1000 title and her first one since the 2025 Wuhan Open. Gauff hasn’t yet clinched a title since that win.
Prior to arriving in Indian Wells, Gauff lost to Elina Svitolina in the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships and suffered an opening-round exit at the Qatar Open. At the Australian Open, the Ukrainian ace knocked her out in the quarterfinals.
Alexandra Eala makes her feelings known on Coco Gauff’s mid-match retirement
Alexandra Eala will be playing the fourth round of Indian Wells for the first time in her career. During the on-court interview after receiving the walkover from Coco Gauff, Eala wished everyone on International Women’s Day before wishing Gauff a speedy recovery.
First and foremost, I want to say Happy Women’s Day, everybody. Bear with me, because I have a lot to say. I want to say thank you to all the incredible women who have paved the way and who have advocated for themselves and for other women. Among them is Coco, so thank you, Coco, for being an amazing competitor and an amazing role model. And I really hope that everything is well and you will recover soon.
Prior to this match, the only time Gauff retired from a match was in the first round of the 2022 Cincinnati Open against Marie Bouzkova. While Gauff will be hoping for a quick recovery, Eala will be hoping to go deep in her debut run in the third WTA 1000 of the season.
Eala produced her best performance at this level by reaching the semifinals of last year’s Miami Open, losing the match to eventual runner-up Jessica Pegula.
The 20-year-old will next be locking horns with Linda Noskova, who went past Sorana Cirstea. Eala has so far played one tour-level final, in last year’s Eastbourne International, losing the match to Maya Joint. Eala, apart from her debut at the Qatar Open and the Dubai Open, also played her maiden Australian Open, but suffered an opening-round exit.
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