Karolína Muchová and Linda Nosková will contest an all-Czech ladies’ singles final at Wimbledon 2026 on Saturday.
Tenth seed Muchová saved a match point to book her place in the showpiece with a dramatic 6-2 1-6 7-6 (12-10) victory over American seventh seed Coco Gauff.
Ninth seed Nosková, meanwhile, secured a composed 6-4 6-4 win over Ukraine’s 12th seed Marta Kostyuk in the other semi-final.
The two Czech stars – neither of whom has won a Grand Slam title – will now face off on Centre Court on Saturday, with play not starting before 4pm UK time.
Muchová survives ‘rollercoaster’ against Gauff
“Honestly, it was such a big fight. A rollercoaster, up and down,” an exhausted Muchová told reporters after her epic performance.
“In 10 seconds, you had match point and then match point against you. There was no time to think.
“It was very nerve-racking, I don’t know what I’m saying.
“I’m shaking and trying to sink it in. The atmosphere was indescribable.”
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Nosková reflects on stunning win
Speaking to the media following an imperious display against the in-form Kostyuk, Nosková said: “I tried to be as patient as possible and be cool. Somehow I hit the last point.
“For me, it’s always just to focus on myself and my game.
“When I play my best, I know I can play with the best players in the world and get a great result, which is now a final of a Grand Slam!
“I’m still in shock – I had a chance in my life to play and get a win. I enjoyed it so much.”
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Another Czech champion at Wimbledon
Czechia are now guaranteed a third women’s champion at Wimbledon in four years – after Markéta Vondroušová in 2023 and Barbora Krejčíková in 2024 – which is a superb return for a country of just 10.9 million people.
When asked about her nation’s dominance on the grass at SW19, Noskova replied: “It’s a tradition at this point, I would guess.
“But I would say we are all kind of brought up in the same way in Czechia – in our game styles, in our tennis – but in some ways we are very different.
“We are very creative, I would say, so grass allows us to kind of use any side of tennis, if it’s serve and volley back in the old days, if it’s slices and volleys in this new era.
“I would say that we have all these sides that we can use, that grass allows us, and it’s showing.”
Faced with the same question, Muchová added: “We have a great history of Czech tennis.
“Definitely the fact that there is so many of us. Myself, when I was younger, looking up to the girls who were maybe five years older than I was, you can just see them doing so well.
“It gave me the belief that I can as well do it. That’s how it worked for me.
“It’s nice that we’re from such a small country and we have so many good players.”
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Simon Wilkes