Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic celebrates her victory against Coco Gauff of america of their semifinal women’s singles match on the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
LONDON–Czech tenth seed Karolina Muchova saved a match point to succeed in her first Wimbledon final with a pulsating three-set win against Coco Gauff on Thursday.
Muchova held her nerve in a gripping final set tie-break, winning 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (12/10) in two hours and 35 minutes in searing temperatures on Centre Court.
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In the ultimate, Muchova will face Czech ninth seed Linda Noskova or Ukrainian twelfth seed Marta Kostyuk, who meet in the opposite semi-final in a while Thursday.
Muchova is into her second Grand Slam final and her first since ending because the 2023 French Open runner-up.
In her first Wimbledon semi-final, Muchova exorcised the ghosts of her previous dismal experiences in south-west London.
The 29-year-old had lost in the primary round on her previous 4 appearances at Wimbledon.
Gauff had won six of her seven previous meetings with Muchova, however the Czech won their most up-to-date encounter in Stuttgart this 12 months and once more she got the higher of the two-time Grand Slam champion.
“It sounds very nice to be in the ultimate. It was such an enormous fight. You’re up and down, no time to think but it surely was very nerve-wracking,” Muchova said.
After battling injuries earlier in her profession, Muchova is finally fulfilling her potential, but even she has been shocked by her success at Wimbledon over the past fortnight.
Muchova takes “pills, sprays, eyedrops” to administer a grass allergy, but she isn’t any longer adversarial to playing on the lawns of the All England Club.
Gripping finale
Karolina Muchova of Czech Republic, right, hugs Coco Gauff of america after winning their women’s singles semifinal match on the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Muchova is finally unimpeded after suffering a large number of injuries lately, including problems along with her right wrist, left wrist, abdomen, back, thigh, ankle and foot.
In 2022, doctors told Muchova that it could be an excellent idea for her to quit tennis altogether, while in 2023 and 2024 right wrist surgery sidelined her for 10 months.
Now she is only one win away from a maiden Grand Slam title.
Gauff, seeded seventh, had struggled badly along with her serve for much of the tournament and has essentially the most double faults on the ladies’s tour this 12 months.
Muchova took advantage of that glaring flaw to interrupt within the third game of the primary set and again within the fifth.
The Czech sealed the set with an ace, sending Gauff scurrying to the sanctuary of the locker room to compose herself.
Gauff had 12 unforced errors in the primary set, but in step with her tenacious character, she hit back with a dominant second set that would not have been more different to her spluttering start.
Steadying her serve and fidgeting with much more purpose and intensity, she broke for a 3-1 lead and emphatically closed out the set to force a decider.
The ultimate set was a nerve-jangling battle, with break points saved by each players as the stress mounted and Muchova appearing to suffer an abdominal injury.
Muchova had a flawless record in tie-breaks this 12 months, a run she maintained in style, diving full length to volley a surprising winner that even Gauff was forced to applaud.
Muchova was given a time violation for delaying her serve at 8-8 and the warning rattled the Czech, who blazed a forehand long to provide Gauff a match point.
But Gauff let Muchova off the hook with a weak drop shot into the web.
Muchova floated a sublime lob over Gauff to bring up a match point but she slipped at the web because the American hammered a winner past her.
Undeterred, Muchova kept the pressure on Gauff and eventually closed out essentially the most memorable win of her profession.