Coco Gauff has given an update on her fitness ahead of the 2026 Miami Open after the arm injury that ended her campaign in Indian Wells.
The two-time Grand Slam champion retired due to pain in her left arm when trailing 2-6, 0-2 against Alex Eala in the third round at the WTA 1000 in Indian Wells earlier this month.
Gauff said after the match that she thought the injury was “nerve-related” and revealed it was a “scary feeling.”
“Never had anything like this before, never felt anything, a sensation like this before,” the American said in Indian Wells.
“And then as the match played, it got progressively worse, even when I wasn’t using my arm on shots that I wasn’t even using my left arm for.
“It was feeling like fireworks at times. Yeah, it was a scary feeling, but yeah, I don’t know.”
In her pre-tournament press conference in Miami, Gauff revealed that her arm is improving each day.
“It was a nerve thing, like I said immediately after the match,” the 22-year-old confirmed.
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“Every day is different. But for the most part I’ll be fine playing this tournament. I may feel it sometimes on court, but I definitely feel it less and less every day, if that makes sense.”
Gauff, who was born in Florida, admitted she would likely have skipped the tournament if it was not the Miami Open.
“I think the goal was to play this tournament,” she said. “There was a thought of maybe skipping it, but if it wasn’t Miami I probably would skip it, but the fact that it is Miami, I really wanted to be here.”
The world No 4 also commented on undergoing an MRI scan for the first time.
“That was the first time I took an MRI, they’re expensive, and I felt like that’s what a coffin would feel like,” Gauff said. “It was very weird. I felt claustrophobic, so I definitely don’t want to go into one of those again.”
Gauff has not gone beyond the fourth round at the Miami Open in six previous appearances, and she expressed her wish to perform well at her home tournament.
“I would love to do well here; it seems like every time I do bad here, I end up doing well on clay, but this is a obviously a bucket list tournament for me,” Gauff added.
“I have stayed at home [during the Miami Open], but also played this tournament where I’ve stayed in a hotel, and neither was better, so I don’t know. Maybe this is the year.”
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