Wimbledon 2026: Linda Noskova claims her 1st Grand Slam title

Noskova became the third Czech woman in four years to win the grass-court major, after Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova in 2024.

LONDON — Linda Noskova is the latest in a long line of Czech women to win Wimbledon. The 21-year-old Noskova recovered from a second-set meltdown in which she wasted five match points to overcome Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in an all-Czech final on Saturday for her first Grand Slam trophy. Noskova became the third Czech woman in four years to win the grass-court major, after Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova in 2024.

Petra Kvitova, who won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, was in attendance, as was the greatest Czech-born player of them all, Martina Navratilova — who won a record nine singles titles at the All England Club. Navratilova looked on from the Royal Box, where she was seated next to Kate, the Princess of Wales, who was due to present the Venus Rosewater Dish trophy to Noskova. Muchova and Noskova played doubles together at the 2024 Paris Olympics and finished fourth.

In the men’s final on Sunday, top-ranked Jannik Sinner will attempt to defend his title against French Open champion Alexander Zverev. ___ AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis Andrew Dampf, The Associated Press