Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Noskova on Tuesday, a result that sent the 21-year-old Czech through to the semi-finals and left the American needing a win over Marta Kostyuk on Thursday plus favourable results elsewhere in Group 1 just to stay in the tournament.

Asked afterwards about the qualification maths, Gauff gave a diplomatic answer with a sharp edge.

“I’m looking forward to next year. I can’t say much, but everybody knows that has to change,” she told reporters.

She did not spell out which change she had in mind, and she did not say whether she had already taken it up with the tour.

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‘Kinda stupid’: the tiebreaker trap

What rankled was not the defeat itself but the format’s tiebreaker logic. The WTA Finals takes eight singles players, splits them into two groups of four and runs a round-robin; the top two in each group reach the semi-finals, with sets won and games won breaking ties. The maths can leave a player on a 2-1 record going out.

“The scenarios, I know they make sense, but they’re kinda stupid. I know it’s like the point thing, all of the sets and all of that,” Gauff said.

Noskova, the Wimbledon champion, became the first player through to the last four, breaking Gauff five times and firing nine aces across 75 minutes at Indian Wells, Tennis Majors reported. Jessica Pegula kept her own hopes alive the same evening by beating Kostyuk, setting up a winner-take-all finish in Group 1.

A format already under review

Gauff’s complaint lands while the WTA is openly rethinking the event. The 2026 edition was moved to Indian Wells after the tour’s hosting arrangement with the Saudi Tennis Federation ended early, with Riyadh originally lined up for a third year.

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From 2027 the Finals head to Charlotte, North Carolina, for a three-year stint at the Spectrum Center. The venue is shared with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, so the tournament has to shrink from eight days to five, and the tour is weighing a larger singles draw and a straight knockout playoff to fit the shorter calendar. No decision has been announced.

A year ago in Riyadh, Gauff also went out at the group stage. Thursday’s match against Kostyuk, who has already been eliminated, decides whether 2026 ends the same way.

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