Newly crowned Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova says her first glance of the trophy inspired her to battle for the biggest title of her life.
Noskova outlasted compatriot Karolina Muchova in a roller-coaster encounter where she was taken to three sets after failing to convert five match points in the second. The clash was a true test for both players, both mentally and physically. Especially for Noskova, who had never played in a major final before and had only won two WTA 500s before Wimbledon this year. Two of her three titles have been won in the last 17 days.
“In the second set, it was very tough for me. My hand kind of froze at certain moments. My feet were not as quick as they had been before,” Noskova reflected afterwards.
“On the last match point, I didn’t even realize that I had a match point. I kept going. That’s what really won it for me, that I didn’t exactly put it into my head.”
After dropping the second set, Noskova left the court in what actually turned out to be a major milestone in the match. As she was walking from the bathroom, she got her first glance of the Venus Rosewater Dish, which is the trophy the champion receives.
“The trophies were there. I was like, I’m not going to take the small one; I’m taking the big one,” she explained.
“I’m going to leave my soul on the court in the third set, whatever that may be. I just started to focus on myself all over again, which was the key point.”
At the age of 21, Noskova is the fourth-youngest woman to win their first major title at Wimbledon after Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams and Petra Kvitova. Although she isn’t the only young gun to triumph on the big stage in 2026, with Mirra Andreeva also winning the French Open. It has been 23 years since two players aged 21 or under have won these two titles in the same season.
The French Open was the polar opposite of Wimbledon for the Czech, who described her performance in Paris this year as a ‘disaster.’ On the other hand, it makes her triumph at the All England Club even sweeter.
“If I focus on myself, if I enjoy my time on court, if I know that I can win,” she said.
“I feel like with my tennis, I never know what to expect. I felt good on court throughout these two weeks (at Wimbledon) and a couple of weeks before. So it showed.”
Three out of the last four Wimbledon titles have been won by a Czech player. Prior to Noskova, Marketa Vondrousova won in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova won in 2024. Furthermore, Karolina Pliskova was runner-up in 2021, as well as a very disappointed Muchova this year.
“Today was one of my worst matches at this tournament. I think I played better in my other matches,” Muchova reflected during her press conference.
“She’s (Noskova) very unpredictable. She has a very good serve, especially today. I really couldn’t read where she’s going to serve, and it made it really tough for me.
“She was playing really bravely, and she was going for it. It’s definitely tough to play her on any surface.”
Noskova made her top 10 debut last month after winning the Berlin Open. As a result of her latest heroics, she will climb to a career-high of seventh on Monday.
She is the ninth different woman to have won Wimbledon since 2017.
