Karolina Muchova outlasted Coco Gauff 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10) on Thursday to reach her first career Wimbledon final.
It will be an all-Czech final after Linda Noskova rolled to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the other semifinal at the All England Club.
Muchova, the No. 10 seed, won the grass-court Bad Homburg Open last week in Germany — her second victory of the season and third of her career. On a roll on the playing surface, she breezed through the early matches in London and wasn’t tested with three sets until she defeated fellow Czech and former Grand Slam winner Barbora Krejcikova in the round of 16.
“It was such a big fight. It was a rollercoaster,” Muchova said in her on-court interview after denying the seventh-seeded Gauff a trip to her first Wimbledon final.
Muchova roared through the first set, converting two of four break chances, while Gauff missed all five of her opportunities. The Czech had nine winners and seven unforced errors, with seven and 12, respectively, for the American.
Gauff took over in the second set, using three aces and her skills at the net, where she won 11 of 12 points.
The deciding set was a back-and-forth nail-biter as both players failed to capitalize on a pair of break chances to take a lead. Instead, the match stayed on serve. Gauff easily served out her final game to send the match to a 10-point tiebreaker that will be remembered for some spectacular shots, largely from Muchova.
Muchova got up early, taking 4-1 and 6-3 leads. But Gauff battled back, evening the score after three straight points.
Tied at 7, the players couldn’t hold serve for the next six points. Up 9-8 and serving at match point, Gauff couldn’t convert. Muchova let her match-point opportunity slip away, too, but took the lead at 11-10. Gauff served to stay in the match, but after a brilliant rally between the two women, Gauff hit the ball into the net.
“You’re up and down. In 10 seconds you have match point and you’re match point down,” Muchova said. “No time to think. But very nerve-wracking. I don’t know. I don’t even know what I’m saying. I’m really kind of shaking and trying to sink it in.”
Meeting with reporters after the match, Gauff said she has a lot to think about, especially the missed dropped shot that could have won the semifinal for her.
“People who don’t watch tennis are going to be like, ‘Why did you do that?’ But also if I make it, everyone’s going to say how clutch of a shot that was,” Gauff said.
Gauff won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the French Open in 2025, and the door was open for a title at Wimbledon, with the top six seeds all eliminated. But it wasn’t to be.
“It was a lot of positives. Obviously got super close,” she said. “Definitely going to think about the last point, or I don’t know, second or third last point … whatever, for a while. But overall it was a positive tournament for me. A match to for sure remember. It’s tough to digest. But I don’t know, I’m happy.”
In Saturday’s final, Muchova will face Czech compatriot and No. 9 seed Noskova, who defeated the 12th-seeded Kostyuk of Ukraine. It will be the first Grand Slam final for both.
The 21-year-old Noskova finished both sets with a service break while only dropping her serve once in the 81-minute match. A two-time winner on the WTA Tour, Noskova has not lost a set since the third round.
–Field Level Media
