Karolina Muchova defeated Coco Gauff, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (12-10) in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Muchova advanced to her maiden Wimbledon final with a thrilling three-set win over Gauff on Centre Court.
The match will be best remembered for Gauff’s failure to convert a match point at 9-8 in the third-set tiebreak.
Who will win the 2026 Wimbledon women’s final?
An all-Czech clash!
During her post-match press conference, Muchova was asked for her thoughts on the error.
Karolina Muchova believes she would have reached Coco Gauff’s drop shot if it had gone over the net
“I thought I would get there, actually,” she said.
“I think I would get to that dropshot.
“But a few points before that, when she hit a dropshot, I didn’t get the shot back. Then she won the rally…
“I was happy it didn’t go over the net!”
The ball sat up nicely for Gauff on match point, but rather than blasting a forehand either side of Muchova, she went for an audacious drop shot that didn’t get over the net.
Muchova also spoke about the rest of the tiebreak.
“Honestly, during that tiebreak, it was like kind of a rollercoaster as well emotionally for me,” she said.
“One point I felt good, I hit a nice winner, and then I did like a terrible mistake.
“In my head, I was just like I have to keep hitting. I was telling myself if I’m going to lose this, I want to lose on my own terms.
“My terms is going forward, playing aggressive, going to the net.
“I knew when I hit a volley that she was still going to be there and hit a few unreal passing shots throughout the whole match, but it’s kind of my game. I just wanted to stick to it.”
Muchova stuck to her game plan and she was rewarded for doing so.
The 29-year-old can now look forward to playing her second major final.
What happened the last time Karolina Muchova played a Grand Slam final?
Muchova has played one previous Grand Slam final, at the 2023 French Open.
Three years ago, Muchova defeated Maria Sakkari, Nadia Podoroska, Irina-Camelia Begu, Elina Avanesyan, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and Aryna Sabalenka to set up a championship showdown with Iga Swiatek.
Swiatek walked onto Court Philippe Chatrier as the heavy favourite, having won her first three Grand Slam finals in straight sets.
Iga Swiatek’s first three Grand Slam finals
- 2020 French Open F [WIN] vs Sofia Kenin, 6-4, 6-1
- 2022 French Open F [WIN] vs Coco Gauff, 6-1, 6-3
- 2022 US Open F [WIN] vs Ons Jabeur, 6-2, 7-6
The Pole looked set to maintain her perfect record when she made a flying start, winning the first set of the 2023 French Open final, 6-2.
But Muchova was determined to put up more of a fight than the three women before her, and battled back, taking a tight second set, 7-5, forcing a decider.
She couldn’t finish the job, losing the final set 6-4, but did herself proud on her first major final appearance.
To this day, she remains the only player to have taken a set off Swiatek in a Grand Slam final.
Iga Swiatek’s last three Grand Slam finals
- 2023 French Open F [WIN] vs Karolina Muchova, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
- 2024 French Open F [WIN] vs Jasmine Paolini, 6-2, 6-1
- 2025 Wimbledon F [WIN] vs Amanda Anisimova, 6-0, 6-0
However, Muchova will be after more than a set when she plays her countrywoman, Linda Noskova, in Saturday’s Wimbledon final.
She will look to use the experience she gained from her defeat to Swiatek in Paris to her advantage when she takes on the 21-year-old Noskova.
Muchova may also take confidence from her one career meeting with her fellow Czech, at Flushing Meadows last year.
Reaching the fourth round of the US Open, Muchova defeated Noskova, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2.
Will she repeat the feat in London and lift the Venus Rosewater Dish? Only time will tell.
