Coco Gauff’s old coach disagrees with her comments as he appeals for change to WTA 1000 series

Coco Gauff called for a change to the WTA Finals format following her defeat to Linda Noskova in Indian Wells.

When asked how she could qualify for the semi-finals, Gauff described the WTA Finals format as ‘stupid’, suggesting change was on the way for the 2027 tournament, when it moves to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Her former coach, Brad Gilbert, disagrees. During the latest episode of ‘The Big T Podcast‘, Gilbert and his co-host, Andrea Petkovic, praised the unique round-robin format used at the WTA Finals and even called for it to be implemented elsewhere.

Brad Gilbert wants to see round-robin format used at a WTA 1000 tournament

“That’s what’s so beautiful about the group stages, we have them so rarely in tennis, but looking back, it could be that one point that makes the difference,” said Petkovic, a former Grand Slam semi-finalist.

“Are you ready for this? I actually would like to see, because we’ve gone to these crazy 12-day tournaments, all these Masters series, I’d actually like to see at least one of them be in this format,” added Gilbert.

Gilbert wants to see one of the 10 WTA 1000 tournaments adopt the round-robin format. How that would work is another question, but it’s certainly an interesting suggestion, and one that his former pupil might not be too fond of…

WTA 1000 tournaments

WTA 1000 tournaments

Petkovic agreed with Gilbert and explained why the single-elimination format can be ‘brutal’ for players competing throughout the WTA Tour season.

“Me too. I agree with you, and the reason I say that is that tennis is such a brutal sport in so many ways; it’s the longest season we have in sports, starts on January 1, and look at us now, November 10, we’re still trucking. But at the same time, when you play each week, the moment you lose, you go home,” she said.

“I know from myself, personally, the worst moment emotionally was when you go to a tournament that’s two weeks, let’s say Indian Wells, you go with three suitcases, you’re ready to rock, and then you lose the first round. You go home, and you’re just unpacking straight from the suitcase into the closet, because you haven’t used a single outfit!”

Gauff has already lost a match at the 2026 WTA Finals, but thanks to the round-robin format, she could still qualify for the semi-finals at the expense of Jessica Pegula, the woman she beat earlier this week. If Gauff beats Marta Kostyuk in her third group-stage match and Pegula loses to Noskova, Gauff will advance to the final four.

But does Gauff have what it takes to beat Kostyuk? Gilbert has now shared what he wants to see from Gauff in what could be her final match of the 2026 WTA season.

Brad Gilbert tells Coco Gauff to be more aggressive when she plays Marta Kostyuk at the WTA Finals

“So, she plays Marta in the next match, and she’s 0-2; she’s been struggling here. You’d like to see Coco serve more aggressively. I don’t know if she has a back issue; you [Andrea Petkovic] thought you might have heard that. If she’s ok, you want to see her a little more aggressive and maybe play a little more aggressively from the back of the court,” said Gilbert.

“But even if she doesn’t qualify, I think it’s important to end the year, if you can, on a win. Psychologically, even though it’s a long year, end it on a win, it puts you in a better frame of mind for the off-season.”

Gilbert was then asked why Gauff often struggles at Indian Wells. The two-time Grand Slam champion has a 67% win rate at the WTA 1000 event, but has never reached the final in six attempts.

“When I was here with her in 2024, the two shots – the serve and the forehand, especially when the conditions are warm, I feel like with this court, you can hit through the court a little bit. Today, you saw in this match, there weren’t a lot of long rallies; that’s where Coco thrives. I think on this court, she needs to serve more aggressively and win a few more free points,” he said.

“But tennis players are so, if you walk into a place where you’ve played well, even if you’re not playing well, instantly, you get that positive vibe. And you go back to, ok, I know I’m going to do well here. If you’re at a place where you don’t do well, it’s almost like, “Oh, I’m back here again?”

Gauff will be keen to improve upon her Indian Wells record and book her place in the WTA Finals semi-finals when she plays Kostyuk on Thursday, November 12.

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