Major upset! No. 3 seed Coco Gauff falls to wild card Belinda Bencic in tense Indian Wells match
Major upset! No. 3 seed Coco Gauff falls to wild card Belinda Bencic in tense Indian Wells match
Coco Gauff, the top-ranked American woman at the BNP Paribas Open, was defeated by Swiss player Belinda Bencic in a nailbiter Wednesday, losing 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Round of 16 matchup.
Shocking Upset: No. 3 Seed Coco Gauff Falls to Wild Card Belinda Bencic in Indian Wells Thriller
Coco Gauff, the top-ranked American woman at the BNP Paribas Open, suffered a stunning defeat Wednesday as Swiss wildcard Belinda Bencic edged her out in a tense Round of 16 battle, winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Gauff, the tournament’s No. 3 seed and a semifinalist last year, had been in strong form, recently overcoming two-time Indian Wells finalist Maria Sakkari. However, her momentum was stopped by Bencic, who entered the event as a wildcard qualifier.
The decisive third set remained on serve for the first eight games, with both players holding firm. The turning point came in the ninth game, when Bencic staged a remarkable comeback from 40-0 down to break Gauff’s serve. She then closed out the match with a composed service game.
Gauff, set to turn 21 on Thursday, made history as the youngest woman to reach the Round of 16 at Indian Wells three years in a row since Caroline Wozniacki. Meanwhile, Bencic, a former world No. 4 now ranked No. 58, found her rhythm as the match progressed. The Swiss star, a Tokyo 2021 Olympic gold medalist, recently returned to competition after giving birth last spring.
Despite holding a 2-1 head-to-head advantage against Bencic—including a three-set victory at the Australian Open in January—Gauff struggled with her serve, an area she has been working to refine. While she cut down on the 21 double faults from her opening-round match, she still tallied eight on Wednesday.
For Bencic, this win marks a significant step forward in her return to top-level competition, while Gauff will look to regroup ahead of the upcoming hard-court season.
Gauff, the No. 3 seed in the tournament who made the semifinals last year, was coming off a victory over two-time Indian Wells finalist Maria Sakkari earlier in the week, but her momentum was halted by Bencic, who entered the tournament as a wildcard qualifier.
The tense third set saw both players hold serve through the first eight games. A key moment came in the ninth game, when Bencic came back from a 40-0 deficit and won a break point against Gauff. The Swiss player went on to win the final decisive game.
Gauff, who turns 21 on Thursday, was the youngest woman to reach the Round of 16 in three straight years at Indian Wells since Caroline Wozniacki over a decade ago.
Bencic, whose career-high ranking is No. 4 but who entered the tournament as the 58th-ranked player, found her footing against the American as the game went on. The Swiss player, who also won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, recently returned to the tour after giving birth to her first child last spring.
Gauff entered the match with a 2-1 record against Bencic, most recently defeating her in a three-set match at the Australian Open in January.
During the match, Gauff also continued to work on her new serve routine, which has given her some trouble in recent days. In her opening-round match, she had a whopping 21 double faults; on Wednesday, she had eight.
