Marta Kostyuk, Linda Noskova reach Wimbledon semifinals

Field Level Media|published: Wed 8th July, 12:02 2026

Jul 6, 2026; London, United Kingdom; Linda Noskova (CZE) waves to the crowd after her match against Madison Keys (USA) (not pictured) on day eight of The Championships Wimbledon 2026 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

No. 9 seed Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic and No. 12 Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals with straight-sets victories on Wednesday.

They will square off on Thursday at the All England Club, where No. 7 Coco Gauff will face No. 10 Karolina Muchova -- Noskova's fellow Czech -- in the other grass-court semifinal.

Noskova, Kostyuk and Muchova are all seeking their maiden Grand Slam title, while Gauff is looking for her third after winning the U.S. Open in 2023 and the French Open in 2025. None of the four has played in a Wimbledon final.

In Wednesday's action, Noskova saved the only break point she faced in a 6-3, 7-5 defeat of No. 25 Elise Mertens of Belgium.

Mertens served to take a 5-4 lead in the second set but dropped the last three games. Noskova finished the one-hour, 50-minute match with seven aces and 30 winners, a dozen more than Mertens.

Noskova, 21, is the youngest player to reach her first major semifinal at Wimbledon since compatriot Petra Kvitova in 2010.

"The feelings are incredible, like never before," Noskova said in her on-court interview. "This is what I'm playing tennis for -- for these matches, for these big stages and big courts. It's truly a special feeling.

"I was a little bit nervous before the match, I'm not going to lie. Usually when it's really, really important for me and I'm putting a little bit of pressure on myself, that's when I play the best. When I'm feeling a little nervous, that means that I care a lot. So I was really enjoying this match."

Kostyuk needed only 69 minutes to complete a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 13 Jasmine Paolini of Italy.

Kostyuk has won 21 of her past 22 matches on the WTA Tour. She won 90% of the points on her first serve and never faced a break point against Paolini, who lost her serve four times and managed only eight winners.

Kostyuk, 24, is trying to become the first Ukrainian to reach the Wimbledon final. Elina Svitolina made it to the semifinals in 2019 and 2023.

"Winning here was not even in the plans today. I just wanted to go out, enjoy and put on a good show," Kostyuk told the crowd after shaking Paolini's hand and twirling a pirouette on court to celebrate the win.

--Field Level Media

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