Coco Gauff experienced a disappointing day at Indian Wells as she was forced to retire from her third-round match against Alexandra Eala, trailing 0-2 in the second set after losing the first. Gauff appeared uncomfortable, constantly massaging her left hand, but the pain persisted until the American had to withdraw from the match.
Eala was in control during the match, winning the first set 6-2 and securing an early break in the second. Despite Gauff’s efforts to stay in the fight, the pain in her left forearm reached its peak, ending the two-time Grand Slam champion’s run in the BNP Paribas Open on a heartbreaking note.
Gauff explained the injury sustained during the contest in the post-match press conference, “I believe it was a forehand, and then, yeah, it just got worse and worse. And then I tried, but because it didn’t feel like a muscle or a bone thing, I think it felt like my arm was on fire,” Gauff said.
“I didn’t feel comfortable continuing, because usually with those types of pains, I kind of know what to expect, but I’ve never had, like, nerve pains before. Again, we’re going to see tomorrow what it is, but I’m assuming it’s that,” she added.
While Coco Gauff made a shocking exit from Indian Wells, Eala marched on to the fourth round, where she will take on Linda Noskova on Monday.
Coco Gauff Reveals What Alexandra Eala Said to Her After Indian Wells Retirement
One of the journalists asked Coco Gauff about what her good friend and former doubles partner Alexandra Eala said to her at the net after she had announced her retirement from the match in the second set.
“No, she just told me I hope I feel better and things like that. I felt really bad to pull out, you never want to pull out, but more so for her because she was playing great tennis, and I don’t want to take anything away from the way that she was playing,” Gauff said.
“Yeah, I’d rather finish the match and lose 6-0, but at that point, I just felt that because the pain was getting worse and I didn’t know what was going on, I just felt it was better to stop. But I think she’s going to have a great tournament,” she added.
While the American said she will be undergoing extensive MRI scans in the coming days, she added that her camp and the team of doctors feel it shouldn’t be anything serious, and that she will hopefully regain complete health in time for the Miami Open.
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