Marta Kostyuk shading Coco Gauff despite WTA Finals loss shocks fans: “Why would she say that out loud?”
Marta Kostyuk ended her run at the WTA Finals on Thursday with a third straight defeat at the tournament, but her exit has been eclipsed by her comments on Coco Gauff after the loss.
Kostyuk was the first alternate in the singles field and only made the draw when World No. 1 Elena Rybakina withdrew with a viral illness. She arrived short of practice after a right wrist injury that had troubled her through the Asian swing, and she was already out of semifinal contention when she took on Gauff. The American needed a win to keep her hopes of reaching the semifinals alive.
Gauff earned a 6-4, 7-5 win in one hour and 39 minutes, taking the last six games from 5-1 down in the second set. She finished with nine double faults and one ace.
In a post-match interview with reporters at Indian Wells after the loss, Kostyuk spoke about her capitulation from 5-1 up, saying:
“I was hoping for Coco’s double fault because she was double faulting a lot in that second set. My wrist started to hurt a lot in the first set, and then in the beginning of the second set, I wasn’t sure how much longer I can play.”
Fans, however, were taken aback that Kostyuk so openly admitted that she was hoping for Gauff to make a double fault instead of taking matters into her own hands. Some interpreted it as a subtle dig at Gauff’s serve, which has often been a weak point in the World No. 4’s game.
“Why would she say that out loud,” one fan reacted.
“Hoping double fault, so cute,” another wrote sarcastically.
Here are a few more reactions from fans:
Coco Gauff’s comments on her 2026 season after WTA Finals exit
Coco Gauff spoke about her overall thoughts on the 2026 season after her WTA Finals run ended, saying:
“Anytime for me that I don’t have a Slam in the season, it’s always going to be more to be desired. But I definitely think I made pushes in areas and improvements, particularly in the grass court area. The more I put myself in those semis and finals positions, I have faith that I’ll take more titles,” Gauff said.
The American reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open, her best Slam result of the year.
At the WTA Finals, although Gauff finished 2-1 in the group, she was eliminated as Jessica Pegula and Linda Noskova both had a better set-win percentage than her.
