Marta Kostyuk was trying to become the first Ukrainian woman to reach a Grand Slam final, but standing in her way of reaching the Wimbledon 2026 final was 21-year-old Linda Noskova, a player beginning to emerge on the WTA tour. Noskova was trying to create a situation where the London finale would be an all-Czech affair.
The semifinal match began tight, as expected. Both players have excellent serves, and games that transition well to grass courts. The outcome would likely be determined by who made the most errors at the highest-stress moments.
Each held through most of the set, though each player also pushed the other. There were few clean service games. Unfortunately for Kostyuk, she dipped in form while serving at 4-5 in set one, and was down love-40. She got a point back, but on the second break point attempt, the Ukrainian tried to overhit a second serve and double-faulted. Nosokova had the break and the set.
Linda Noskova defeats Marta Kostyuk in the semifinals of Wimbledon 2026
In the second set, Kostyuk saw the same scenario unfold, where she found herself down love-40 and couldn't dig out of the hole. The Czech led 3-1, and as well as she was serving, appeared headed toward winning the match in straight sets. However, Kostyuk was able to break in the next game by hitting some bombastic forehands, and the set was back on serve.
After each player held serve, Marta Kostyuk faced nearly the same situation at 4-5 in the second set as she did in set one. Once again, she couldn't come through after trailing 15-40. She was able to battle back to 30-40, but on the second match point, the Ukrainian hit a forehand wide, and Noskova had the set 6-4 and the match.
Linda Noskova will next play Karolina Muchova in the Wimbledon 2026 final. Muchova defeated Coco Gauff in three thrilling sets in the other semifinal match. The final will begin no earlier than 11 am on Saturday, and temperatures are expected to stay warm, with a high near 30 degrees Celsius (mid-80s Fahrenheit).
The final will see Noskova's pristine power against Muchova's more cerebral game. That should make the match highly entertaining for tennis fans globally, but especially those in Czechia.
