Coco Gauff has hinted that the WTA Finals will undergo a format revamp when the season-ending tournament moves to its new home, the Spectrum Centre in Charlotte, next year. The current format sees the season's eight best players split into two groups of four, with the group winners advancing to the knockout semi-finals over an eight-day schedule, mirroring the ATP Finals format.
However, the WTA Finals schedule will be compressed to five days when the event relocates to Charlotte, leaving no room for six days of round-robin play plus semi-finals and finals. This has prompted speculation that a new format will be introduced.
Gauff's frustration with round-robin scenarios
This week in Indian Wells, a temporary home for the WTA Finals for this year only, Gauff has gone 1-1 in her group stage matches. Even if she beats Marta Kostyuk in her final round-robin match on Thursday, she may not advance to the semi-finals, depending on other results in her group.
After losing to Linda Noskova in her second group tie on Tuesday, Gauff made her feelings clear on the round-robin dynamic. "The scenarios, I know they make sense, but they're kinda stupid," she laughed. "I mean, I know it's the point thing, and all of the sets and all of that, but I'm just trying to win a match. If I win my match [on Thursday] and I still don't qualify, I'm like 'It's okay, it's cool'. But next year, I'm looking forward to next year. I can't say much, but everybody knows it has to change."
Known secret on tour
Gauff's comments have sparked discussion about what the WTA Finals could look like from 2027 onwards. Former Australian Open champion Madison Keys, working on-site as a Sky Sports pundit this year, revealed that a format revamp was a known secret. When asked by Laura Robson if Gauff was alluding to a new format in 2027, Keys replied: "I think that might be the worst kept secret on the tour. We have less days next year, only five days, so something has to change. What is that? I don't think anyone really knows concretely yet, so we'll have to see where we end up. But it seems as though the Finals have changed formats many times, so we'll see if maybe the players love it this way."
Historical format changes
From 1983 to 2002, the WTA Finals singles draw used a 16-player knockout format, before reverting to the round-robin group schedule in 2003. It is not yet known whether the WTA Tour would copy this idea when the tournament is reduced to five days from next year.
