Linda Noskova wins first Wimbledon title

LONDON: Linda Noskova claimed her first Wimbledon title on Saturday after recovering from a second-set collapse to beat fellow Czech Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in a dramatic final at the All England Club.

Seeded ninth, the 21-year-old looked on course for a straightforward victory before the match turned sharply. Noskova let five match points slip away in the second set and was reduced to tears during the contest, but regained her composure to seal her maiden Grand Slam crown after two hours and 28 minutes.

The victory made Noskova the youngest woman to win Wimbledon in 15 years. It was also the third tour-level title of her career and mirrored Petra Kvitova’s achievement, with Kvitova having been the same age when she won the first of her two Wimbledon singles titles in 2011.

Noskova has previously said Kvitova’s Wimbledon success inspired her to take up tennis, and Kvitova watched the final from the royal box as her compatriot lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish. The result also meant a Czech woman has won Wimbledon for the third time in the last four years, following Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova in 2024.

A final full of momentum swings

In what was described as the first Open era Grand Slam final between two Czech women, Noskova took the opening set comfortably against her 10th-seeded compatriot. But the contest quickly shifted as she faltered when serving for the match in the second set.

Noskova failed to convert four match points and allowed Muchova to break back. She then missed another chance as Muchova held serve to level at 5-5. During that spell, Noskova put her fingers in her ears as she tried to shut out the crowd’s reaction, later covering her head with a towel and appearing to wipe away tears before Muchova completed the set.

She then left the court before the decider, and the break helped change the momentum again. Noskova broke early in the third set and eventually finished the match before dropping to the grass in disbelief.

Landmark run on grass

Noskova earned £3.6 million, reported as $4.8 million, for the title and continued a rapid rise on grass courts. Although she only played her first match on the surface in Birmingham in 2023, she has won more matches on grass than any other player on the WTA Tour over the past two years.

Before this Wimbledon, she had never advanced beyond the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam. Her title run also included survival earlier in the tournament when she faced match point against Sorana Cirstea in the third round. She became only the third woman to win Wimbledon after saving a match point earlier in the event, joining Venus Williams in 2005 and Serena Williams in 2009.

Noskova is also the first woman since Maria Sharapova in 2004 to win a grass-court tour event, in her case Berlin in June, and then go on to lift the Wimbledon title in the same year.

Some of the routines that have marked Noskova’s rise include her love of baking, her reliance on lucky charms and rituals, and a daily serving of matcha tea from a friend during the tournament. Her triumph came a year after a painful Wimbledon visit in 2024, when she entered the event shortly after her mother died of cancer.