Noskova claims first Grand Slam at Wimbledon: all-Czech final decided in third set

Linda Noskova won her first Grand Slam title by beating fellow Czech Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in the final on Saturday, 11 July 2026. At 21, she prevailed in an all-Czech final after coming close to a meltdown in the second set.

Noskova had dominated the opener and led 5-2 in the second, wasting five match points before dropping the set. She then left the court for a bathroom break, where — as she recounted — she spotted the two trophies on display: the Venus Rosewater Dish for the champion and the smaller plate for the runner-up. "I'm not going to take the small one, I'm taking the big one," she told herself. She kept her word, closing out 6-3 in the third with a service winner on her sixth match point.

"It's never easy to get the last point," Noskova said in her victory speech to Muchova. "Karo, you really made me work for it." She becomes the third Czech woman in four years to win the grass-court major, after Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova in 2024.

Her tribute to her mother, who died shortly before Noskova played the tournament two years ago, was moving: "I definitely would not be standing here without her," she said, blowing a kiss skyward, as Martina Navratilova wiped away a tear in the stands. Muchova, for her part, opened her runner-up speech by jokingly calling Noskova her "ex-friend."

For Noskova it was a redemption: after a retirement against Coco Gauff in last year's semifinal, this time she held her nerve at the decisive moments and lifted the most prestigious trophy in women's tennis.

Sources

https://apnews.com/article/wimbledon-final-muchova-noskova-c896211caa1dd2ba717b0d97aa6b1284