Noskova marches to maiden Wimbledon final with Kostyuk sweep

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Four years after turning professional, Linda Noskova finally reached her first Grand Slam final.

Before a packed Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 9, 2026, the Czech ace completed her revenge tour against Marta Kostyuk, 6-4, 6-4, in the Wimbledon semifinals.

It was a completely different showdown from their only previous matchup on clay, as Noskova pulled off an impressive tactical shift on Wimbledon’s bright green grass.

Two months ago, Kostyuk handed Noskova a harsh reality check in the Madrid Open quarterfinals, sweeping her in two sets, 7-6, 6-0.

However, Noskova’s camp made the necessary adjustments for the high-stakes rematch, instructing her to vary her topspin groundstrokes with deep, flat, and powerful ball striking.

Aside from varying her baseline game, Noskova remained patient with Kostyuk’s unpredictable third-shot returns by staying behind the baseline and hitting more deep slices that caught her opponent off guard.

The effective adjustments neutralized Kostyuk’s court mastery, slowing her down with flat forehand returns while keeping her away from the net.

Noskova flipped the script in the eighth game of the first set, blanking Kostyuk in her service game for a momentum-boosting 5-3 advantage.

Serving for the first set, Noskova delivered under pressure and dominated with back-to-back powerful serves to take a 1-0 lead.

Although Kostyuk showed signs of life by incorporating more backhand, on-the-rise flicks, Noskova remained in control, relying on her dominant service game to maintain her lead.

The roles were reversed at match point, as Kostyuk served to stay alive while trailing 4-5, but Noskova dropped the hammer, scoring the decisive break to seal her first Grand Slam final appearance.

Noskova wrapped up her semifinal win with 67 total points, including an impressive 76% win rate on her first serves, three break points, and 24 return points.

“I always try to focus on my serve first just to keep my service games,” Noskova said after the win.

“When I play my best, I know that I can play with the best players in the world and have a great result, which is a final at a Grand Slam, I guess.”

With the win, Noskova set up a highly anticipated championship showdown against Karolina Muchova, who earlier outlasted Coco Gauff in the other semifinal.