Czech Republic player Linda Noskova secured her place in the semifinal round of the 2026 WTA Finals on Tuesday in Indian Wells, California. She defeated the United States competitor Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-3.
The match lasted for one hour and fifteen minutes.
"Coco’s a big competitor, so I was ready for everything to come my way today," said Noskova, who holds the No. 8 seed. "I feel like I held myself through a lot of tough situations."
Noskova enters the tournament as the reigning Wimbledon champion. The straight-sets victory guarantees her advancement out of round-robin play in her tournament debut.
Gauff fell behind by a double-break in the first set and struggled to keep pace with the consistent play of her opponent.
Noskova won five games in a row during the contest to claim the first set and a 3-0 lead in the second. She sealed the victory by striking her ninth ace on match point.
The remaining Group 1 semifinal berth will be decided between Gauff and Jessica Pegula. Pegula kept her tournament hopes alive on Tuesday by eliminating Marta Kostyuk from contention.
Pegula, who finished as the runner-up at the WTA Finals in 2023, defeated Kostyuk after suffering two losses to the Ukrainian player earlier in the season.
Kostyuk entered the eight-woman field as a late alternate following the withdrawal of World No. 1 Elena Rybakina due to a viral illness.
Kostyuk will face Gauff on Thursday. Although Kostyuk cannot advance to the semifinals, she is playing for an additional $230,000 in prize money and the chance to avoid an 0-3 round-robin record.
The final Group 1 standings will be determined following Thursday’s matches.
