The USA took a heavy blow on Sunday, March 8, in Indian Wells as local favorites, including Coco Gauff, Ben Shelton, and Tommy Paul, faced an unfortunate exit from the “fifth major.” Even though a few stars advanced to the next rounds by showcasing their exceptional on-court prowess, these major upsets dramatically shook the landscape at Tennis Paradise.
Coco Gauff Retires Against Alexandra Eala With Left Arm Injury
Gauff’s third-round meeting with Alexandra Eala began with the World No. 4 breaking early before losing her momentum entirely. Eala capitalized on this and dragged the American into longer rallies, reeling off five straight games to take the opening set, 6-2.
At 5-2 in the first set, Gauff showed visible discomfort in her left arm and called for the physio. Later during the changeover, she received treatment and taping on her forearm.
Despite struggling with these issues, Gauff showed her trademark physical resilience and continued the match. However, the problems clearly affected her serve and backhand, hindering her performance and leading to more double faults.
Eala kept delivering a strong performance in the second set, breaking the American before Gauff walked to the net and retired from the match. This decision handed the Filipina a 6-2, 2-0 win, setting up a fourth-round clash with Czech star Linda Nosková.
During her post-match on-court interview, Eala addressed the win as not the way she wanted to advance in the tournament while calling Gauff “an amazing competitor and an amazing role model.”
Tournament officials later confirmed the retirement was due to a left arm injury. This marked only the second mid-match withdrawal of Gauff’s WTA career and her first since Cincinnati 2022.
Ben Shelton Falls to Fellow American Learner Tien
On the men’s side, the all-American third-round clash between Shelton and Learner Tien delivered one of the most grueling contests of the tournament so far. World No. 27 Tien edged the tight opening set in the tiebreak, taking it 7-6(3) and putting pressure on the eighth seed.
Shelton mounted a strong comeback in the second set, breaking his opponent to take the set, 6-4. However, he had already battled through a grueling three-setter against another American, Reilly Opelka, in the previous round and was exhausted by the final set.
According to reports, Shelton had been struggling with illness, looked under the weather, and appeared short of energy between points.
Tien stayed composed, secured a crucial break at 3-2 in the third set, and closed out a 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3 win to reach the Indian Wells round of 16. The 20-year-old finished with 15 aces compared to Shelton’s eight, outserving a player known for his bullet-like aces and big serves and winning more of his first-serve points.
Tien will now face the No. 18 seed in the tournament, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, in the round of 16 on Tuesday, March 10.
Brazilian Sensation João Fonseca Upsets Tommy Paul
Paul closed the night session on Stadium 1 against Brazilian João Fonseca, but the American’s campaign came to a sudden halt against one of the most in-form rising stars on the ATP Tour.
Following his dramatic win over Karen Khachanov, in which he saved two match points, Fonseca carried that momentum straight into his clash with Paul. The 19-year-old delivered a confident performance to defeat the No.23 seed, 6-2, 6-3, and reach the fourth round of a Masters 1000 event for the first time in his career.
He broke Paul’s serve early in the first set and again in the second, making his intentions clear to dominate both sets from the beginning. Paul, who had defeated Zizou Bergs 6-1, 6-2 in the previous round, never found the same rhythm and struggled to fight back in longer rallies against the younger opponent.
Fonseca’s win sets up a high-profile round of 16 clash with World No. 2 Jannik Sinner on Tuesday, March 10. Sinner overcame Denis Shapovalov and Dalibor Svrcina in straight sets.
Despite these setbacks, several Americans posted important wins on Sunday, keeping local hopes alive across both tours. In the women’s draw, sixth seed Amanda Anisimova delivered one of the most dominant performances of the day, overwhelming Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-1 in just 52 minutes and setting up a fourth-round clash with Victoria Mboko.
On the men’s side, Frances Tiafoe produced a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win over Italy’s Flavio Cobolli to reach the round of 16, where he will face World No. 4 Alexander Zverev.
