Coco Gauff’s campaign at Indian Wells ended abruptly after the American star was forced to retire with a left forearm injury during her third-round match against Filipina star Alexandra Eala. The fourth seed began the match strongly, taking an early 2-1 lead with a service break, but the momentum quickly shifted as she began showing discomfort in her arm, per a post on X by Tennis Channel.
Gauff missed four game points while serving to consolidate the break, allowing Eala to recover and eventually seize control of the match. From that moment, the 18-year-old surged, winning seven consecutive games to move ahead 6-2, 2-0, at which point Gauff approached the net and informed her opponent she could not continue due to pain in her forearm.
Not the ending we wanted to see 💔
Coco Gauff is forced to retire against Alex Eala after feeling persistent pain in her arm. 😓
Wonderful sportsmanship from both 🤝 pic.twitter.com/chxwX99aUT
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) March 9, 2026
“I really didn’t want to win this way. But this is still a really big moment for me to be able to play on Stadium 1 at Indian Wells against such a great competitor. I do my best to be humble and keep my feet on the ground because I am surrounded by so many amazing players. Tennis is a really humbling sport because you really learn how to lose and learn to be self-aware,” Eala said post-game after delivering a resounding thanks to Gauff, per USA Today.
“First and foremost, I want to say Happy International Women’s Day, everybody. I want to say thank you to all the incredible women who have paved the way and 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. I really hope everything is well and you recover soon,” she said.
The injury forced Gauff to retire after just 54 minutes, marking only the second mid-match retirement of her professional career. The previous instance came at the 2022 Cincinnati Open.
The 21-year-old American entered Indian Wells as the top-seeded American and one of the tournament favorites. After reaching her first semifinal at the tournament in 2024, she has now suffered back-to-back early exits, losing in the Round of 16 last year and the third round this season.
Regardless, the 31st seed Eala advanced to the Round of 16 at Indian Wells for the first time, becoming the first Filipino player to reach the stage in tournament history.
