Coco Gauff is facing an uphill battle to remain at No 4 in the WTA Rankings following her third-round retirement at the Indian Wells Open.
The two-time Grand Slam winner struggled throughout her encounter against Alex Eala as she first felt a sharp pain in her left forearm during the second game of the match and eventually took a medical timeout for treatment while 2-5 down.
Eala went on to break again to wrap up the first set and then won the opening two games of the next set before Gauff threw in the towel.
The American is set for an MRI scan in the next few days to determine the extent of her injury and whether or not she will be fit to compete at the next WTA 1000 tournament, the Miami Open, which gets underway on March 17.
Gauff says her team were confident it was not a long-term injury, stating: “We’re going tomorrow to get an MRI and to see what’s going on. 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.
“Yeah, we’ve just got to figure out exactly what it is and, I guess, how to prevent it in the future.”
Points Earned And Rankings Permutations
Gauff started the Indian Wells Open at No 4 in the WTA Rankings with 6,803 points and had 120 points to defend after reaching the quarter-final a year ago.
Her run to the third round was worth 65 points so the American will be -55 after the California event with her overall tally 6,748.
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With her two closest rivals Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova still alive, Gauff could slip down the rankings if they both enjoy deep runs.
Pegula sits on 6,528 points in the Live Rankings ahead of her third-round match while Anisimova is on 6,180 after reaching the fourth round with a two-set win over Emma Raducanu.
But there is good news for Gauff as Pegula will need to reach the semi-final to overtake her in the rankings while Anisimova can only move ahead of her if she wins the title.
Prize Money Earned
Gauff, who is yet to win a title so far in 2026, was on $1,268,715 prize money for the year before the WTA 1000 tournament in California and she will add another $61,865 to her bank account.
With her overall total growing to $31,089,701, she finds herself in 11th place on the all-time list with Angelique Kerbert in 10th place on $32,545,460.
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The post Indian Wells Open: Prize money and ranking points Coco Gauff earned. Will she lose fourth place? appeared first on Tennis365.
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