Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court.This week, Wimbledon concluded with two very different finals.In the women’s final, Linda Nosková won an all-Czech contest against Karolína Muchová. The 21-year-old surged toward victory, but then faltered as the Venus Rosewater Dish swam into view. Just as it seemed Muchová, 29, would produce an unlikely and devastating comeback, Nosková reset, beating back the demons she had met just an hour or so prior to win the title 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.In the men’s final, defending champion Jannik Sinner had to accept a secondary role against French Open winner Alexander Zverev. The 24-year-old Italian hung in with his serve and his scrambling as Zverev unleashed wave after wave of unreturned serves and laser forehands, before clicking into gear to come from a set down and lift the trophy again, 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-4.Here, Ava Wallace, Charlie Eccleshare, Charlotte Harpur and Matthew Futterman present their takeaways from the third Grand Slam of 2026, from the best matches and biggest upsets to their abiding memories.If you’d like to follow our fantastic tennis coverage, click here.Why do players wear white at Wimbledon?Ava Wallace and Madison EadesBest match?Ava Wallace: Karolína Muchová playing like she’d never lost to Coco Gauff in her life — when she in fact had a 1-6 record against the American — made for a magnificent semifinal. It was exactly the type of grueling, three-set match in which Gauff shines, but Muchová refused to do anything but play her game. Watching a player exhibit that level of trust in their own ability — and have it work out — was special.Charlie Eccleshare: A toss-up between the Muchová vs. Gauff thriller, and Novak Djokovic outlasting Félix Auger-Aliassime in five sets, and five hours and 15 minutes, at the quarterfinal stage.The former wins, because the ending was so tense and spectacular. It felt inevitable from the start of the deciding tiebreak that Djokovic would ultimately get the better of Auger-Aliassime.There was nothing inevitable about the latter’s conclusion, as both players missed match points in unbelievably dramatic ways. Gauff netted a forehand sitter, before Muchová slipped as a Gauff passing shot whizzed past her.Like any truly great match, the outcome was in the balance until the final point was over.Charlotte Harpur: Djokovic beating Auger-Aliassime. It was approaching 11 p.m. local time. Both players were panting, keeled over, leaning on their rackets after a gruelling rally to set up match point in the fifth-set tiebreakMomentum had swung back and forth throughout the five-hour plus thriller, the quality of tennis had remained high and the sense of jeopardy never dissipated. The roar of the crowd hit me to my core in those final moments and Djokovic’s performance at 39 was superhuman.Matthew Futterman: Gauff vs. Muchová. There was nothing like that accelerated tension of a match-deciding tiebreak with a spot in the final on the line.Favorite match?Wallace: Naomi Osaka and Aryna Sabalenka’s match at the French Open was a teaser. It was played at such high quality, but it was also over far too fast, once Sabalenka started overwhelming Osaka with her power. Because of their history — three straight wins for Sabalenka this year — I’d tempered my expectations for their Wimbledon meeting. But Osaka pulled out a vintage performance, thumping groundstrokes and bounding around the court like she was in the heyday of her Grand Slam-winning years. After years of wondering whether she could, or even wanted to, win major tournaments again, it was cool to watch what felt like a turning point in the second half of her career.Eccleshare: Being on Centre Court for Serena Williams’ singles return against Maya Joint after four years out was always going to be special, but there was a chance it would feel like a testimonial, or even a bit of a letdown, if Williams wasn’t able to be competitive.Watching her fight back to win the second set after trailing by a break and looking down and out is something that will always stay with me. She may have ended up losing, but the noise and atmosphere on Centre Court when Williams claimed that second set made it feel like she’d just won a final.Harpur: Osaka defeating Sabalenka.Osaka had not beaten the world No.1 since 2018. She had lost to Sabalenka three times in a row in 2026 which she said “sucked.” But the prospect of a more comfortable and confident looking Osaka on grass set up an intriguing contest.The world No. 14 bullied Sabalenka from the back of the court in the first set and counterpunched the Belarusian’s power to great effect in the second, while serving formidably throughout. Sabalenka’s grunting was so visceral, as she put all of the fight within her into coming back, but Osaka nullified her weapons.Futterman: I loved watching the Dimitrov wins. He was so thrilled to be there after his horrible injury last year. Even his loss to Féry was magic, despite that I would have loved to have seen him against Zverev in the semifinal.Favorite quote?Wallace: “It’s really tough to find any words, but I’ll start with Linda. My ex-friend.”Karolína Muchová’s ability to find humor through her tears after losing the Wimbledon final to friend and fellow Czech Linda Nosková was impressive — and the line was perfectly delivered.Eccleshare: “10 years ago maybe.”A quote that came not in an interview or news conference, but on Centre Court as Novak Djokovic watched another Jannik Sinner ace fly past him. Djokovic, who was being outplayed by Sinner, summed up the challenge he has at 39 trying to live with the outstanding world No. 1 who is 15 years his junior.Harpur: Muchová’s quote to Nosková, followed by: “I’m kidding, obviously. … Kind of. You’re so young. This was your first final of a Slam. The way you handled it and how you played was really unbelievable. Beyond all this, you’re a very kind person and human being.”When Muchová was hurting so much, the kind of hurt that has your heart in a vise, she showed a sense of humour and humility. A class act.Futterman: “I think thousands of people would love to lose the semifinals at Wimbledon on match point,” Gauff said after loss to Muchová.Best moment?Wallace: During the break after the second set of Williams’ and Joint’s first-round match, one woman in the crowd stood and screamed, “YES, SERENA!” Then immediately turned to everyone sitting around her and very calmly apologized for being so excited. All her neighbors laughed. Only at Wimbledon.