Coco Gauff’s former coach disagrees with WTA Finals star and calls for major tennis change
Coco Gauff says the round-robin format at the WTA Finals “has to change” but former coach Brad Gilbert has a rather different take.
Gauff began the season-ending tournament with a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 win over Jessica Pegula on Sunday but picked up just six games in a straight-sets defeat to Linda Noskova on Tuesday.
With Pegula swatting aside Marta Kostyuk in two sets, Gauff now has to rely on Noskova doing her a favour, even if she beats the Ukrainian in her final group stage match.
When asked about the possibility of making the semi-finals, she said, “The scenarios – I mean, I know they make sense, but they’re kinda stupid (laughs).”
Gauff then added, “I’m looking forward to next year. I can’t say much, but everybody knows it has to change.”
More WTA Finals News
Former world No 1 slams Elena Rybakina decision-making after late WTA Finals withdrawal
Mirra Andreeva left coach Conchita Martinez ‘very surprised’ at WTA Finals after Elina Svitolina win
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
The 2026 WTA Finals will be in Indian Wells for one year only, with Charlotte hosting the event for the next three years. Gauff hinted that changes are coming to the format, but some clearly like the setup as it is.
Indeed, Gilbert, who coached Gauff to her 2023 US Open triumph, likes the different permutations, while former top 10 player Andrea Petkovic praised the “beauty” of the round-robin composition.
In an exchange on The Big T Podcast, Gilbert said, “So Coco does not control her destiny now to make the semis.”
Petkovic replied, “So she should have, would have, could have… but she should have won a set today for it to be even.”
Gilbert chimed in, “Or, remember she had match point in the second set against Pegula in the first match.”
Petkovic then said, “Oh, if she had won in straights, oh my god! You see, that’s what is so beautiful about the group stages. We have them so rarely in tennis but looking back at them, it could be that one point that makes the difference.”
Far from getting rid of this style of tournament, Andre Agassi’s former coach Gilbert called for more round-robin arrangements, and Petkovic agreed with him.
He said, “We have gone to these crazy 12-day tournaments at all these Masters; I actually would like to see at least one of them be this format.”
The German then said that there is nothing more annoying than doing a lot of packing for a tournament, only to lose in the first round and come home early. However, the group stage format prevents that.
She continued, “Me too. I agree with you, and the reason I say that tennis is such a brutal sport in so many ways. It’s the longest season we have in sports. It starts on 1 January, and look at us now: 10 November, we are still trucking.
“But at the same time, when you play each week, the moment you lose, you go home. I know personally, the most depressing moment for me was when you go to a tournament that is two weeks, let’s say Indian Wells, you go with three suitcases, you are ready to rock, and then you lose [in the] first round.
“You go home, and you unpack straight from the suitcase straight into the closet because you haven’t used a single outfit of those that you have packed.”
Very few tournaments on the WTA and ATP Tours have round-robin formats. Team competitions don’t have all-or-nothing knockout ties but the WTA and ATP Finals setup is very rare.
Logistically, it would be difficult to see how that format would work at a Masters 1000 but the novelty of it at the season-ending event makes for good viewing.
READ NEXT: Alarming attendances at WTA Finals set to continue as embarrassing issue is exposed
