Muchova and Noskova set up Wimbledon’s first all-Czech women’s final
Linda Noskova’s win over Marta Kostyuk sets up an unprecedented all-Czech Wimbledon final against Karolina Muchova, guaranteeing a maiden Grand Slam champion on Saturday.
Kostyuk – Noskova semi-final, Wimbledon 2026 | © Ch. Caillaud / PsNewz
Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova will contest the first all-Czech final in Wimbledon’s history on Saturday, after Noskova powered past Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, the No. 12 seed, 6-4, 6-4 to reach her maiden Grand Slam final.
Muchova, the No. 10 seed, leads their head-to-head 1-0, though the pair have never met on grass – their only meeting came on hard courts at last year’s US Open, where Muchova won in three sets.
Kostyuk actually outhit Noskova on Centre Court, striking 22 winners to her opponent’s six and cracking her first serve at up to 173 km/h. But the errors piled up alongside the winners – 22 unforced mistakes, one more than her winner count – while Noskova, the No. 9 seed, played the tighter match, converting three of six break points and winning 15 of her 18 net approaches.
Noskova’s grass run
Twice, Noskova broke Kostyuk while she served at 5-4 — and both breaks proved fatal. Kostyuk saved one match point along the way before Noskova closed it out, taking eight of the last ten points to finish it off.
Noskova arrived at Wimbledon off the back of her first grass-court title, won in Berlin last month, and the run to a maiden major final continues a breakthrough season for the 21-year-old. Saturday’s final is guaranteed to produce a first-time women’s Grand Slam champion for a ninth consecutive year at the All England Club.
Karolina is such an incredible player. Mainly and mostly she’s a great person.
Noskova had nothing but praise for the opponent standing between her and a maiden Grand Slam title. “Karolina is such a great fighter,” the Czech No. 9 seed said of Karolina Muchova, her opponent in Saturday’s Wimbledon final. “Such an incredible player. Mainly and mostly she’s a great person. I’m glad I get to play my first final with her.”
Asked how she would prepare, and whether she carried any superstitions, Noskova made clear her routine would not change. “I sleep well all the time, so I hope this will be no change,” she said. “I have so many superstitions, I cannot even start to name them. You don’t want to know. It’s like 20, 30 things in a day. I feel like it’s an illness at this point.”
She said she would keep the same morning routine, “almost the same lunch,” the same bathroom, the same sink. “The same everything. I’m not gonna change anything.”
Muchova, appearing in her second major final after finishing runner-up to Iga Swiatek at the 2023 French Open, takes the lone head-to-head win into Saturday, but grass is uncharted territory for both of them against each other. Noskova, into her first Grand Slam final at 21, starts it knowing Czech tennis has already made history – whoever lifts the trophy.
