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Gauff and Noskova win on the WTA Finals’ opening day

November 7 withdrawal · November 8 opening day

Published Sources checked 4 min read

Updated

Gauff beats Pegula 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2; Noskova beats Kostyuk 6-2, 6-4. Both begin WTA Finals Group 1 at 1-0.
November 8 completed opening day. Sources: WTA match reports.

November 10 late update: Noskova reaches the semifinals

Linda Noskova defeated Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-3 in 75 minutes to become the first player through to the WTA Finals semifinals. Noskova is 2-0 in Group 1; Gauff and Jessica Pegula are both 1-1, while Marta Kostyuk is eliminated at 0-2.

Noskova broke Gauff five times and won 18 of 24 points on Gauff’s second serve. She built 4-1 leads in both sets. Thursday’s final round-robin matches are Noskova-Pegula and Gauff-Kostyuk. Wednesday’s Group 2 order remains Svitolina-Muchova at 3 p.m. EST, followed by Sabalenka-Andreeva without a fixed start.

November 10 evening update: Pegula wins, Kostyuk eliminated

Jessica Pegula defeated Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 7-5 on Tuesday in 1 hour, 29 minutes. Pegula moves to 1-1 in Group 1 and remains in contention for the semifinals. Kostyuk is eliminated after two straight-set losses, the WTA confirmed.

Pegula won the first nine points and took the opening set in half an hour. Kostyuk made the second set closer, but a double fault gave Pegula the decisive break for 6-5. Pegula served out the match. She will face Linda Noskova on Thursday; Kostyuk finishes against Coco Gauff.

Gauff-Noskova follows Tuesday’s opener. Its result was not established in the official match report used for this update, so no additional Group 1 semifinal place is recorded here. Wednesday’s order remains Svitolina-Muchova at 3 p.m. EST, followed by Sabalenka-Andreeva without a fixed start.

November 10 noon update: Group 2 opens, Group 1 returns

Aryna Sabalenka defeated Karolina Muchova 7-6(2), 7-5 on Monday, and Mirra Andreeva beat Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-0. Sabalenka and Andreeva begin Group 2 at 1-0. Neither result by itself secured a semifinal place.

Andreeva won the final seven games of her Finals singles debut. She held serve throughout the match and saved all six break points, including four in the last game, the WTA reported. That resistance prevented Svitolina from turning late opportunities into a foothold.

Tuesday’s singles order starts with Marta Kostyuk against Jessica Pegula at noon Pacific, 3 p.m. EST. Coco Gauff against Linda Noskova follows, without a fixed start time. Noskova can advance with a straight-sets win. A Gauff win combined with a Pegula win would put Gauff through as the group winner.

On Wednesday, Svitolina faces Muchova at noon Pacific, 3 p.m. EST, followed by Sabalenka against Andreeva. That second match also has no fixed start. The two opening winners meet with a chance to qualify, but the outcome of the other match and, in some scenarios, the number of sets still matter.

November 8 late update: Gauff wins in three sets

Coco Gauff defeated Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2 in Sunday’s second Group 1 match. The WTA reported a 2-hour, 39-minute contest. Pegula had led 5-1 in the second set before Gauff recovered and reached match point at 6-5; Pegula saved it and took the tiebreak.

Gauff then won the opening three games of the deciding set. She and Linda Noskova finish the first day at 1-0 and will meet next; Pegula and Marta Kostyuk will meet after opening defeats. Match start times were not established in the result report.

November 8 evening update: Noskova wins the opener

Linda Noskova defeated Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-4 in Sunday’s opening match at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells. Noskova took the first set in 31 minutes, then broke for a 4-2 lead in the second and held the advantage, the WTA reported.

Both players were making their Finals debuts. Kostyuk entered as an alternate after Elena Rybakina’s withdrawal. Noskova’s victory was her third consecutive win over Kostyuk this season and gives her the first completed win in Group 1.

Earlier opening-day report

Marta Kostyuk will play the opening match of the WTA Finals after world No. 1 Elena Rybakina withdrew Saturday, citing a viral illness. Rybakina’s departure removes the defending champion from the season-ending field in Indian Wells before group play begins.

The WTA’s revised Sunday order starts with Linda Noskova against Kostyuk at noon Pacific, 3 p.m. EST. Coco Gauff faces Jessica Pegula afterward. That second match has no fixed start time; it follows the opener.

Rybakina said she would rest and recover before preparing for 2027. The WTA lists her completed season at 54-14 with four titles, including the Australian Open and US Open. She had already secured the year-end No. 1 ranking.

Two familiar matchups open a changed group

Kostyuk enters as the first alternate and joins Noskova, Gauff and Pegula in Group 1. Noskova leads their head-to-head series 2-1, with all three meetings coming this season. Their US Open encounter went three sets; Noskova also won at Wimbledon, while Kostyuk won on clay in Madrid.

Gauff and Pegula have split ten career meetings. Gauff won both of their 2026 matches, at Wimbledon and Cincinnati, but Pegula holds a 2-1 advantage in their previous WTA Finals meetings.

The route through the week

Each player meets the other three members of her group once. The top two advance to the November 14 semifinals, where each group winner plays the runner-up from the other group. The final is November 15.

Group 1 plays November 8, 10 and 12. Group 2, featuring Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva, Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchova, plays November 9, 11 and 13.

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