Linda Noskova prevailed in a close battle against Karolina Muchova.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS
Starting 2025, the All England Club decided to switch the order of finals during the closing weekend of Wimbledon.
On Saturday, the men’s doubles final would be played first so that the women’s summit clash can attract the “largest possible worldwide audience”.
Last year, it didn’t go to plan as Iga Swiatek scampered home in just 57 minutes, nearly half an hour shorter than the preceding doubles fare.
Worth the gamble
But this time around, the tournament got the final that global suppporters will long remember as Czechia’s Linda Noskova beat compatriot Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 after two hours and 27 minutes of action-packed tennis.
It was the 21-year-old’s maiden Grand Slam title and she is now the fifth woman representing Czechia to win a Major. For Muchova, 29, the reverse was her second loss in as many finals after the 2023 defeat to Swiatek at Roland-Garros.
“I think we made history and I believe that all our Czech fans at home are proud of us,” Noskova told Muchova after a battle which witnessed a 71-minute, see-sawing second set. “No matter the result today, I think it was a good day for both of us.”
For a significant while, it didn’t appear like a good day for both the fans and Muchova as the contest seemed destined to go the 2025 away, with Noskova leading by a set and 5-2.
Topsy-turvy
But Muchova staged a miraculous comeback by erasing five match-points, including one on her opponent’s racquet.
Noskova had three chances in the eighth game but two backhand errors and an audacious drop from Muchova obliterated them.
The set now hinged on the ninth game, but Noskova couldn’t plant two good serves in a row despite being 30-0 up.
There were three aces, two inch-perfect one-two punches and a service-winner as she expunged six break opportunities. But on her lone match-point in that game, she dumped a double-fault.
In the tenth game, Noskova had her fifth chance, only for a terrific forehand winner from Muchova to wipe that away. The momentum was with the more experienced player and the tie was soon level.
Storm before the calm
At the beginning of the decider, it looked as if Noskova couldn’t remember the time when she was playing well. The smart serve and the flat ground-strokes that had thwarted Muchova from working her usual magic had disappeared.
But Noskova displayed a lot of grit in saving four break-points in the first and third games and breaking in the second. It turned the tide, and she held her next three service games for the loss of just two points.
To hasten the end, she conjured a brilliant streak of three shots – a forehand winner, an ace and a service-winner. In Noskova’s ideal world, it should have come an hour earlier. But better late than never.
Published – July 12, 2026 12:59 am IST
