March 09, (THEWILL) — American tennis player Coco Gauff was forced to withdraw from the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday, conceding her third-round match against Alex Eala midway through the second set with a left arm injury.
Gauff first experienced discomfort in the second game of the opening set, later describing the onset to tournament media in vivid terms: “It felt like a firework was going off inside of my arm, and then my whole arm felt like it was on fire.” Medical staff attended to her left shoulder and forearm during the match before applying a compression bandage between sets, and have since indicated the problem is likely nerve-related. Gauff confirmed it was the first injury she had sustained without knowing its cause.
A trainer was called on court when Gauff was trailing 5-2 in the first set. Having dropped that set, and broken in the second game of the second, she walked to the net to end the contest. It was only the second retirement of her career, following a withdrawal at the 2022 Cincinnati Open against Czech player Marie Bouzková.
The injury carried particular consequences given the nature of the match-up. Gauff’s two-handed backhand is her most dependable weapon, and it is especially effective against left-handers like Eala, giving her an advantage in crosscourt exchanges. With that shot impaired, she was unable to impose the tactical patterns on which she typically relies.
Eala, the 31st seed, progressed to the fourth round at Indian Wells for the first time and will face 14th seed Linda Nosková in her next match. Gauff, meanwhile, will have an MRI scan and must assess her fitness in time for the Miami Open, another WTA 1000 event which follows immediately after Indian Wells.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
