Linda Noskova.

| Photo Credit: TOBY MELVILLE

: Wimbledon 2026 marked a full circle moment for Linda Noskova. On the eve of the 2024 edition, during which she notched up her debut match-win at the All England Club, the Czech player lost her mother to cancer.Two years on, the 21-year-old stood on Centre Court holding aloft the Venus Rosewater Dish – the prize given to the women’s singles champion – after beating compatriot Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in a topsy-turvy final.“I would definitely not be standing here without you, so thank you,” Noskova said after the triumph, paying tribute to her late mother with tears in her eyes and a hand raised skywards.Saturday was also the culmination of a different journey for Noskova. In late May, she lost in the first round of the French Open and called it a “disaster”.But in under seven weeks, she has put together successful title-runs at Berlin and Wimbledon, and is set to rise to a career-high ranking of No. 7.The win at SW19 did not come easy, for she blew five championship points in the second set and had to weather a storm early in the third by saving multiple break-points.“I was just telling myself that the match was starting [all] over,” Noskova said about her mindset before the start of the deciding set. “I was in the bathroom and just splashed some cold water on myself.“But what really helped me [was]… after the first step I took off the court, the trophies were there. I was like, ‘I’m not going to take the small one, I’m taking the big one’.“The third set would not have been the same if I had lost the first game. I lost five games in a row in the second; so it was very important to start off great. I’m glad that I kept my cool and somehow played like I did in the first set,” she added.For Muchova, this was the moment the match slipped away. After a sluggish set and a half, the 29-year-old overturned a 2-5 deficit in the second stanza to level the contest at one set apiece.“It took a lot of power and strength out of me to get back,” the 29-year-old said. “I gave it my all. I felt the momentum in the second set. Unfortunately, at the start of the third, it kind of slipped through my fingers.”Wimbledon was Muchova’s second loss in a Major final after the 2023 French Open reverse to Iga Swiatek. She lost in three sets in Paris too (2-6, 7-5, 4-6).“It will definitely take me a few days [to recover],” said Muchova, who will rise to No. 6 in the world.“But I was in the finals and it’s still a pretty great achievement. It’s still something I would take. My game is good and I’m improving. It’s a goal of mine to lift that Grand Slam trophy. This is a setback, but a motivation as well.” Published - July 12, 2026 08:36 pm IST