“Sue me, I don’t know" - Coco Gauff clears up prior comments lambasting WTA Finals format following exit

Coco Gauff has come out and clarified her previous comments regarding the WTA Finals format. The American won two of her matches but failed to advance out of the group due to winning fewer sets than Jessica Pegula.

It was a cruel turn of events for Gauff. She won her opening match against her more senior countrywoman, but a missed match point in the second set to win in straight sets proved to be pivotal. She would go on to lose out against the eventual group winner Linda Noskova, leaving it out of her hands.

She did her bit, defeating Marta Kostyuk, but then a nervy wait was initiated as Pegula and Noskova battled it out on court. The 32-year-old prevailed in three sets, saving a match point in the process and progressing in second behind the Czech.

Following the defeat to Noskova, Gauff came out with some comments over the format, in which many people took in a different way from what the 22-year-old was trying to put across.

“The scenarios, I know they make sense, but they’re kinda stupid. I know it’s like the point thing, all of the sets and all of that,” she said. “But it’s like I’m just trying to win a match and if I win my match [Thursday] and I still don’t qualify, I’m like, ‘It’s okay, it’s cool.’ I’m looking forward to next year. I can’t say much, but everybody knows that has to change.”

Two days later, she went on the Tennis Channel after winning over Kostyuk. “I wasn’t saying the format was stupid. I was saying if you get in your head while you’re playing into all the scenarios, that’s stupid," she said.

The format does mean that there are a lot of different circumstances that could occur. Normally, all players need to focus on winning their match in the usual knockout format adopted in most WTA tournaments.

In the round robin, every set dropped could be costly, and that was the case for Gauff on this time round. However, there could be change in the air if Gauff's comments are true. “Did I leak info that’s kind of already out there?” Gauff continued. “Sue me, I don’t know.”

Whatever occurs, Gauff will be forced to watch the rest of this tournament on the sidelines. It is the first time that she has failed to make it out of the round robin phase in consecutive years on the WTA Finals. Since winning the title in 2024, she has not had everything go her way.

It has been a decent season for Gauff. No Grand Slam titles is a painful stat but a brace of semi-finals at the end is something that she can get some satisfaction from. She reached three WTA 1000 finals, winning in Cincinnati following defeats in Miami and Rome. She currently sits in the World No.4 spot, only three points ahead of Pegula. She could drop to as low as sixth in the world to culminate the campaign if results go Pegula and Elina Svitolina's way.