Coco Gauff picked up an arm injury during her third-round defeat to Alex Eala at Indian Wells.
The world number four retired from a match for just the second time in her career.
She looks to have recovered, though, and is expected to compete at the Miami Open later this week.
Who will win the Miami Open in 2026?
Vote now!
But there is cause for concern, even if Gauff is fully fit…
Coco Gauff should be wary of her second-round opponent
Receiving a bye into round two, Gauff will play either a qualifier or Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Gauff has a history with Cocciaretto, having met the Italian earlier this year.
Cocciaretto lost in the last round of Doha qualifying but was gifted a second chance as a lucky loser.
The Italian beat the Frenchwoman, Elsa Jacquemot, to book her place in the next round, where she took on the number-four seed, Gauff.
Gauff was a heavy favorite to win the match and advance to round three, but was stunned by the 25-year-old Italian.
Coco Gauff vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto – Match stats
| Stats | Coco Gauff | Elisabetta Cocciaretto |
| Aces | 2 | 0 |
| Double faults | 3 | 2 |
| 1st Serve % | 76% | 72% |
| Win % on 1st Serve | 67% | 70% |
| Win % on 2nd Serve | 56% | 93% |
| Break points | 1/5 | 4/12 |
| Total points won | 58 | 73 |
Cocciaretto was a deserving victor, picking up her third career top-10 win.
Gauff wasn’t unlucky; she was simply beaten by the better player on the day.
Their Qatar clash was just 35 days ago, so the 22 year-old is unlikely to have forgotten what happened.
Now, you could say that Gauff might use the defeat as motivation.
Or, you could argue that Cocciaretto has the upper hand against Gauff, and may use that to her advantage should they face off in Miami.
There is, of course, no guarantee that Cocciaretto will advance to play Gauff.
Where will Coco Gauff be ranked at the end of 2026?
She will have to play a qualifier or a lucky loser first.
Given that the Italian hasn’t played since her quarterfinal run in Qatar, it’s unclear how fit she is.
Only time will tell if Cocciaretto and Gauff will do battle in Miami, but it will certainly be something to look out for!
Coco Gauff has never won the Miami Open
Gauff will want to bounce back from a tricky Indian Wells campaign at the Miami Open, although she hasn’t fared too well at the event in recent years.
In fact, Gauff has never reached the quarterfinals in Florida.
Coco Gauff’s record at WTA 1000 events
| Event | Best result | Win/Loss record | Win % |
| Qatar Open | QF – 2022 | 3-4 | 43% |
| Dubai Tennis Championships | SF – 2023, 2026 | 10-5 | 67% |
| Indian Wells | SF – 2024 | 12-6 | 67% |
| Miami Open | 4R – 2022, 2024, 2025 | 8-6 | 57% |
| Madrid Open | F – 2025 | 10-5 | 67% |
| Italian Open | F – 2025 | 17-6 | 74% |
| Canadian Open | QF – 2021, 2022, 2023 | 10-5 | 67% |
| Cincinnati Open | W – 2023 | 9-5 | 64% |
| China Open | W – 2024 | 14-2 | 88% |
| Wuhan Open | W – 2025 | 8-1 | 89% |
The Miami Open is statistically Gauff’s second-worst WTA 1000 event.
Last year, Gauff reached the fourth round, where she lost to Poland’s Magda Linette in straight sets.
The year before, Gauff lost to Caroline Garcia, 3-6, 6-1, 2-6 at the same stage.
She’ll want to go a step further in 2026, but other than Cocciaretto, who might Gauff need to beat?
Coco Gauff’s Miami Open draw
| Round | Highest-ranked potential opponent | Potential seeded opponents |
| 1R (BYE) | – | – |
| 2R | Elisabetta Cocciaretto (44) | – |
| 3R | Maria Sakkari (33) | [33] Maria Sakkari |
| 4R | Linda Noskova (13) | [14] Linda Noskova, [21] Elise Mertens |
| QF | Amanda Anisimova (6) | [6] Amanda Anisimova, [12] Belinda Bencic, [20] Diana Shnaider, [30] Cristina Bucsa |
| SF | Iga Swiatek (3) | [2] Iga Swiatek, [8] Mirra Andreeva, [10] Victoria Mboko, [13] Karolina Muchova, [17] Clara Tauson, [22] Anna Kalinskaya, [31] Alex Eala, [32] Marie Bouzkova |
| F | Aryna Sabalenka (1) | [1] Aryna Sabalenka, [3] Elena Rybakina, [5] Jessica Pegula, [7] Jasmine Paolini, [9] Elina Svitolina, [11] Ekaterina Alexandrova, [15] Madison Keys, [16] Naomi Osaka, [18] Iva Jovic, [19] Liudmila Samsonova, [23] Qinwen Zheng, [25] Jelena Ostapenko, [26] Leylah Fernandez, [27] Marta Kostyuk, [29] Xinyu Wang, [34] Jaqueline Cristian |
Gauff could meet the in-form Linda Noskova in the last 16, before taking on her countrywoman, Amanda Anisimova, in the quarterfinals.
Then, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka could await her in the semifinals and final.
She won’t want to get ahead of herself, though…
Gauff will now prepare for her second-round match, which will take place later this week.
