There will be a Czech winner of the Wimbledon Women’s Singles title for the third time in four years.
Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova secured their spots in Saturday’s final after beating Coco Gauff and Marta Kostyuk, respectively.
Muchova saved a match point and overcame an inopportune time violation to beat Gauff 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 on Centre Court.
Czech-born Wimbledon Women’s Singles champions in the Open Era
- Martina Navratilova – 1978, 1979, 1982, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990
- Jana Novotná – 1998
- Petra Kvitova – 2011, 2014
- Marketa Vondrousova – 2023
- Barbora Krejcikova – 2024
- Karolina Muchova or Linda Nosková – 2026
Noskova then overcame the challenge of Kostyuk, triumphing 6-4, 6-4 under the evening sun in south-west London.
By reaching the final, Muchova and Noskova have made Czech tennis history.
Karolina Muchova and Linda Nosková will contest the first all-Czech Grand Slam final for 37 years
Not since 1989 have two Czech players competed against each other in a Grand Slam singles final.
Way back in 1989, Ivan Lendl and Miloslav Mecir contested the Australian Open final.
Lendl had defeated John McEnroe and Thomas Muster en route to the final, while Mecir had beaten Goran Ivanisevic and Jan Gunnarsson in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
Mecir – who represented Czechoslovakia at the time but is now recognised as Slovakian – was the clear underdog heading into the 1989 Australian Open final.
Lendl was the second seed [Mecir was ninth], and the Czech star confirmed his status as one of the best players of the 1980s with a comprehensive victory over Mecir.
Lendl won 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. It was his first Australian Open title and seventh Grand Slam singles in total.
Lendl defended his Australian Open title a year later, beating Stefan Edberg in the final, 4–6, 7–6.
Karolina Muchova says she is ‘tired’ of being asked about Czech women’s tennis
“I’m honestly tired about it, because, as you said, I get this question every second day, I would say,” Muchova said during her post-match press conference when asked for her thoughts on the recent success of Czech women.
“Every time I think we all answered it or tried to answer it.
If you were in charge of tennis, what is the first rule you would change?
“On one hand it’s nice to get that question because it’s so good for our country and for the sport in our country. We are such a small country. This is just unbelievable and all that.
“But yeah, to get that question all the time, I try to answer every time differently. I don’t know what to say anymore [smiling].
Muchova later commented on returning to a Grand Slam final – three years after her first appearance at the 2023 French Open.
Iga Świątek defeated Muchova in the 2023 Roland Garros final, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
“It’s a very special moment. It’s a great achievement,” she said. “This is one of the biggest tournaments that we have with all the, again, I’ll repeat myself, history, so many legends were playing here, as well to just get to play on the Centre Court, it was so nice.
“Yeah, just incredibly glad and happy that it happened and that I have a chance to play another final.”
