Linda Noskova became the third Czech winner in four years at Wimbledon recently.
The 21-year-old followed in the footsteps of Marketa Vondrousova and Barbora Krejcikova, who won the Wimbledon women’s singles event in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
How many Grand Slam titles will Linda Noskova win in her career?
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But before Vondrousova, Krejcikova, and Noskova, there was Petra Kvitova, before her, there was Jana Novotna, and before her, there was the great Martina Navratilova.
During the latest episode of the ‘Love All Podcast‘, Clijsters highlighted Navratilova’s impact on Czech tennis.
Kim Clijsters says you ‘can’t underestimate’ the effect Martina Navratilova had on Czech tennis
“Just the last few days of Wimbledon, I was really interested to listen to a lot of the interviews from Slovakian players like Daniele Hantuchova, used to be Czechoslovakia. The way that Daniela described it, she says Martina Navratilova created the blueprint of what a tennis player should look like,” said Clijsters.
“She set the bar for the coaches on how the coaches need to start teaching young kids, what’s important for a female tennis player.
“They have their tennis centre in Prague, they have very strong club-level coaching as well, so I think from a young age, women’s tennis, girls tennis is super popular, it’s the number one sport in the Czech Republic.
“What is very important is… I looked up to Sabine Appelmans, who was a top 15 player on the WTA side, and Dominique Monami on the French side, who was top 10. I think she made the semis at the Australian Open. There is always that role model that you can get close to; I was able to practice with Sabine.
“When I hear that Martina Navratilova, she’s always spending a lot of time giving back to the Czech players, advice, and hitting, I think we can’t underestimate how important that is.
“To have somebody like her who is in the top two, three of the greatest players to ever play our sport, on the singles and the doubles court.”
Martina Navratilova’s career stats
- Singles Grand Slam titles – 18
- Doubles Grand Slam titles – 31
- Mixed doubles Grand Slam titles – 10
- Weeks at #1 (Singles) – 332
- Weeks at #1 (Doubles) – 237
Navratilova represented Czechoslovakia until 1975, when she was stripped of her citizenship after asking the United States for political asylum.
She acquired Czech citizenship in 2008 and has remained an important figure in the country.
After winning Wimbledon this year, Noskova was seen speaking to Navratilova, joining her on the legendary list of Czech champions at the event.
Czech Wimbledon champions (Women’s singles)
- Martina Navratilova – 9 (Representing USA)
- Jana Novotna
- Petra Kvitova – 2
- Marketa Vondrousova
- Barbora Krejcikova
- Linda Noskova
The chances are that Navratilova will continue to provide support for Czech players, and that can only be good news for those looking to become the ‘next Noskova’.
However, there is more to Czech success at Wimbledon than Navratilova…
Kim Clijsters explains why Czech players are so successful at Wimbledon
“What’s been really important in Belgium, and I think it’s the same in the Czech Republic, is that you play on clay courts during the summer, but then in the winter when the weather gets bad, we play on carpets back in the day, now some clubs will have more hard courts indoors,” said Clijsters.
“But carpets were what we played on, and it is very relatable to what the older Wimbledon grass courts played like.
“For me, when I see the Czech players, the female Czech players, I think we can now compare them to the Spanish clay courters. I think they are the grass-court specialists, because they hit such a clean ball.
“Their technique is great. Jana Novotna back in the day, to see how she played on the court, her beautiful timing, how composed she was, and just stayed so calm out there.
“Just like Linda, to me, not as much in the game style, but the mindset, to me, I was like, wow, there is such a calmness.
“Even in the final, when she lost the second set, and how she was able to mentally come back was so, so impressive.
“You can only learn that when it’s been taught, or you’ve watched tennis, and you’ve seen players in your country talk about it in interviews or read about it, that’s the only way, because it just doesn’t happen naturally.
“You must experience it in some way, through somebody else’s experience.”
Noskova and Muchova played the first all-Czech Wimbledon final this year, and will be keen to continue their strong form as they head over to North America for the US Open series.
Both players are scheduled to return to tennis at the Canadian Open, which begins later this month.
