Coco Gauff retires injured in third round at Indian Wells against Alex Eala
Gauff withdrew during the second set with a left arm injury, marking only her second mid-match retirement in her career.
March 8, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Coco Gauff retired injured during her third-round match against Alex Eala at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Saturday, the second mid-match withdrawal of her career.
Gauff sustained an injury to her left arm during the match. Medical treatment began toward the end of the first set when she was down 5-2. A trainer massaged her left shoulder and forearm, and between sets applied a compression bandage to her left forearm.
After losing the opening set, Gauff faced a break point in the second game of the second set. When Eala broke serve, Gauff walked to the net to retire from the match. Eala did not immediately notice and the American leaned on the net before her opponent turned and walked forward to embrace her.
Gauff's only other mid-match retirement occurred in 2022 against Marie Bouzková of the Czech Republic at the Cincinnati Open.
In her on-court interview, Eala thanked all the women who had paved the way in tennis on International Women's Day and acknowledged Gauff for her stature in the sport.