Coco Gauff retired from her third-round match at Indian Wells on Sunday with a “scary” left arm injury that “felt like it was on fire” but was optimistic she could sort out the problem in time to play in Miami.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old world number four was trailing Alexandra Eala 6-2, 2-0 when the American called it a day, sending the rising star from the Philippines into the last 16.<\/p>\n
“I felt it, like, the second game of the first set,” Gauff said. “I guess a simple way to put it, it felt like a firework was going off inside of my arm, and then my whole arm felt like it was on fire.<\/p>\n
“And then as the match played, it got progressively worse, even on shots that I wasn’t even using my left arm for,” added Gauff, whose two-handed backhand is usually a formidable weapon.<\/p>\n
“It was a scary feeling,” she said, adding that she would have an MRI scan to get an accurate diagnosis of what she’s been told is likely a nerve-related issue.<\/p>\n
“Good news is they don’t think it’s going to be like a long-term type of situation, so I should be fine for Miami,” she said, looking ahead to the second leg of the ATP and WTA’s “Sunshine Double” that follows on the heels of Indian Wells.<\/p>\n
It’s just the second time Gauff has retired during a match, the first coming back in 2022 against Marie Bouzkova in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n
“I’d rather finish the match and lose 6-0, but at that point I just felt that because the pain was getting worse and I didn’t know what was going on, I just felt it was better to stop,” she said.<\/p>\n
Gauff was trailing 5-2 in the first set when she took a medical timeout for treatment on her arm.<\/p>\n
A trainer worked on Gauff’s shoulder and arm and after she was broken in the final game of the opening set, returned to wrap her forearm.<\/p>\n
It was to no avail, and Gauff went to the net and told Eala she was calling it a day after 54 minutes.<\/p>\n
“No one likes winning like that, and no one likes losing like that,” Eala said.<\/p>\n
“Nevertheless, I’m really happy with how I played,” added Eala, who was trounced 6-0, 6-2 by Gauff in the quarter-finals at Dubai last month.<\/p>\n
“I’m really happy with my performance, and I hope I can make the best out of the momentum,” added the 31st seed, who will face Czech Linda Noskova for a place in the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n
Eala, 20, shot to prominence last year with a surprise semi-final run at the Miami Open, where she beat Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys.<\/p>\n
At the US Open in August she became the first player from the Philippines to win a Grand Slam singles match.<\/p>\n
She fell in the first round at the Australian Open but her adoring fans created a sensation in Melbourne, mobbing her practice sessions as well as her first ever main-draw match in the event.<\/p>\n
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