When people think of Wimbledon, they think of strawberries and cream, Pimm’s, and petunias — but increasingly, they should also think of Czech women’s tennis. Saturday’s singles final will pit 21-year-old Linda Noskova against her fellow Czech Karolina Muchova, a historic meeting that has never happened before at a Grand Slam in the professional era.
What makes it even more fitting is the venue. Wimbledon has long been a hunting ground for Czech women, and whoever lifts the Venus Rosewater Dish on Saturday will become the third Czech champion in four years. Marketa Vondrousova claimed the title in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova followed in 2024.
The Czech legacy at Wimbledon stretches back decades. Petra Kvitova won the championship in both 2011 and 2014. The late Jana Novotna triumphed in 1998. And before them all, Martina Navratilova — competing as a Czech — claimed the first of her nine Wimbledon singles titles in 1978, before later becoming an American citizen.
Noskova reached her first-ever Grand Slam final with a commanding 6-4, 6-4 victory over Marta Kostyuk, relying on her powerful serve, strong groundstrokes, and sharp net play. She reflected on what seems to be a national gift for grass-court tennis.
“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,” Noskova said.
“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.”
Noskova’s win was her 19th on grass over the past two years — more than any other player on the Tour. “I feel like I’m using my game, my game style on grass, a lot, and it’s paying off,” said the self-described nature lover.
Muchova, the 29-year-old 10th seed, displayed equally impressive grass-court instincts in a gripping third-set tiebreaker against American Coco Gauff. She plucked off a breathtaking volley at her feet, executed a gorgeous topspin lob, delivered an ace, and kept attacking even as the pressure mounted.
When asked about the Czech secret to success on grass, Muchova was candid. “I don’t have a theory,” she said. “Yeah, we have 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 like maybe five years older than I was, you can just see them doing so well. It’s nice that we’re from such a small country and we have so many good players.”
