Pegula saves match point to reach WTA Finals semis as Gauff exits

Jessica Pegula secured a WTA Finals semifinal place at Indian Wells on Thursday with a 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 7-5 victory over Linda Noskova that ended Coco Gauff's tournament. Reuters reported that Pegula saved a match point during the two-hour, 45-minute contest and served a career-best 16 aces. Noskova, the Wimbledon champion, recorded 15 double faults.

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Noskova had already qualified for the last four and came within a point of completing an unbeaten group campaign. According to Agence France-Presse, she held match point at 5-4 in the deciding set. Pegula survived, held serve, broke in the following game and converted her first opportunity to finish the match.

The result left Noskova, Pegula and Gauff level on two wins and one defeat. Their set records determined the order: Noskova finished first with five sets won and two lost, Pegula followed at 5-3, and Gauff was third at 4-3. Alternate Marta Kostyuk ended the group without a victory.

Gauff had kept her chances alive earlier by beating Kostyuk 6-4, 7-5, but ultimately needed a different outcome from the final group match. AFP reported that she recovered from 5-1 down in the second set, saving three set points in the seventh game before completing a six-game winning streak. She won in one hour and 39 minutes despite nine double faults.

Both Americans were making their fifth consecutive appearance at the season-ending tournament, according to the WTA. Pegula's previous campaigns included a runner-up finish in 2023 and a semifinal in 2025. Her qualification this year followed a season featuring five finals, with titles in Dubai and Charleston. Gauff, the 2024 WTA Finals champion, had won Cincinnati and reached the finals in Miami and Rome during her own qualification campaign.

Pegula now faces Mirra Andreeva in Saturday's semifinals, their first meeting, Reuters reported. The victory keeps her bid for a first WTA Finals title alive, while Gauff's successful finish against Kostyuk was insufficient to extend her stay in the competition. Noskova advances alongside Pegula despite losing their final group encounter.