INDIAN WELLS, California : Linda Noskova secured her place in the WTA Finals semi-finals with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Coco Gauff on Tuesday, while Jessica Pegula kept her hopes of reaching the last four alive with a straight-sets win over Marta Kostyuk.
Czech Noskova, who defeated Kostyuk in her opening match, has won both of her round-robin encounters without dropping a set and is assured of advancing to the knockout stage.
Gauff and Pegula are both 1-1, with Thursday’s final round-robin matches set to determine which player joins Noskova in the semi-finals.
Pegula earlier revived her campaign with a 6-2 7-5 victory over Kostyuk, eliminating the Ukrainian from contention.
The American made a strong start, breaking Kostyuk in the opening game before securing another break to take the first set. Pegula carried that momentum into the second, breaking early before the pair exchanged breaks twice.
Kostyuk struggled with unforced errors, committing 17 in the opening set compared with just three from Pegula.
“Once I got off to a good start today, I definitely didn’t want to give away that second set,” Pegula said. “In general I wouldn’t want to, but I think it was a bit of an extra push to be able to give myself the best chance in this group, considering I did lose the first match.”
Noskova then took control against Gauff in a contest marked by inconsistent serving from both players. After exchanging early breaks in the opening set, the Czech broke twice more to take the lead.
Gauff continued to struggle on serve in the second set, allowing Noskova to race into a 3-0 advantage. The American fought to stay in the contest but could not mount a comeback, as Noskova held her serve for the remainder of the set before sealing victory with an ace.
The result sends Noskova into the semi-finals on her tournament debut, while Wimbledon champion Gauff will have another opportunity to qualify when she faces Kostyuk on Thursday. Pegula will take on Noskova in the other Group 1 match.
Kostyuk, who replaced world number one Elena Rybakina after the Kazakh withdrew with a viral illness, is making her first appearance at the season-ending tournament.
“I saw that she’s changing pace a lot, and I would struggle sometimes,” Kostyuk said after her defeat to Pegula. “Overall, I think I was pretty happy with my return today. You can obviously be better, everything can be better. Next time, maybe I’ll be more ready.”
