Coco Gauff suffered a worrying arm injury midway through her match against Alexandra Eala in Indian Wells.
Gauff was trailing 2-6, 0-2 when she was forced to retire from the match.
After the match, Gauff told reporters the injury felt like a ‘firework’ going off in her arm; intensifying concerns regarding the American’s physical health.
Where will Coco Gauff be ranked at the end of 2026?
The nerve-related arm injury is particularly concerning due to Coco Gauff’s injury record – the American is rarely injured and had only retired from a match once before in her professional career.
Gauff is set to compete in the Miami Open this week. However, Andy Roddick has expressed some concerns.
Andy Roddick is concerned about Coco Gauff’s recent injury
“It’s never good to see Coco [pull out],” Roddick said on the Served podcast. “She is not someone who throws in the towel or retires from matches.
“She is not someone who, even with struggles with shots, she leans into the stress and shows up the next week. She is maybe one of the most professional people I have ever seen at her age.
“Which would tend to make us maybe accurately concerned about this arm situation. Hopefully it’s nothing.
“If I am her team and she is not feeling great going into Miami, she is not one to lay off the calendar, she plays a pretty heavy schedule all the time. It’s a tough tightrope walk.”
Jon Wertheim,, a notable tennis journalist with decades of experience in the industry, offered his opinion on the situation.
“I think ultimately this is the benefit of tennis,” he began. “We don’t know a lot. If this is the NFL you get a much more detailed injury report.
“We have seen players in agony and then they give it a day and they still look good in the doubles draw.
“But this is basically a home game for Coco and let’s not forget she’s the defending champion of the next major.
“This is not someone who is quick to pull the rip cord so you hope she is okay.”
As the fourth seed in Miami, Gauff has received a bye through to the second round.
In the second round, she could play Elisabetta Cocciaretto; who defeated Gauff in the Qatar Open second round last month.
If Gauff advances to the third round, she will likely face Maria Sakkari, who has been in excellent form to start the year.
Coco Gauff’s opportunity in Miami
Gauff reached the fourth round of the 2025 event, defeating Sofia Kenin and Maria Sakkari before losing to Magda Linette.
As a result, Gauff earned 120 WTA ranking points.
Therefore, if she were to win the event this year, she would earn a further 880 ranking points.
Of course, this is easier said than done: Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina are the dominant WTA forces at the moment, and it seems likely that one of these two Indian Wells finalists will lift the title in Florida.
However, you can never count out Coco Gauff.
