LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 09: Karolina Muchova of Czechia acknowledges the crowd following victory over Coco Gauff of United States during their Ladies’ Singles semifinal match on day eleven of The Championships Wimbledon 2026 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 09, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Karolina Muchova defeated Coco Gauff 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10) in an epic match to reach her first Wimbledon final. In the second women’s semifinal, Linda Noskova defeated Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-4 to set up an all-Czech final and continue the country’s brilliance at the All England Club.
It was the first trip to the semifinals for Gauff and Muchova. Muchova’s win over Gauff was her 10th straight on grass. Muchova, 29, is in her second Major final. She reached the final of the 2023 French Open, where she lost to Iga Swiatek. Noskova, 21, is in her first Major final. But it’s not the first for the Czech Republic.
How has a country of fewer than 11 million become a grass‑court factory, and what does Saturday’s women’s final say about a long‑running Czech tennis pipeline that keeps delivering at Wimbledon?
“There’s always just been someone,” said Noskova in a post-match press conference after she defeated Elise Mertens in the quarterfinals. “For me, it has always been the fact that as such a small country, we can definitely do big things in the world if we look up to the people that did it.”
Those who did it before Muchova and Noskova include Ivan Lendl, Jana Novotna, Martina Navratilova, Petra Kvitova, Barbora Krejcikova, Marketa Vondrousova, Katerina Siniakova, Tomas Berdych, and Karolina Pliskova, to name a few.
The History Of Czech’s At Wimbledon
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – JULY 08: Tennis player Martina Navratilova with her trophy after winning the Women’s Singles at the Wimbledon Championships on July 8, 1990 in London, England. (Photo by Georges De Keerle/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Martina Navratilova won a record nine Wimbledon titles and is the best-known player of Czech descent. Navratilova was born in what was then Czechoslovakia and played under that country’s flag until she defected to the United States in 1975. She became an American citizen in 1981.
However, Navratilova wasn’t the first Czech player to reach the finals at Wimbledon. Jaroslav Drobný made the finals in 1949.
Jan Kodes won the men’s title in 1973, becoming the first Czech player to win Wimbledon in the Open Era.
Kodeš said, “I remember a key turning point that happened at a meeting of socialist countries in East Berlin,” in an interview with Radio Prague International. “Most of the socialist states agreed not to support tennis. But the chairman of our sports union, Antonín Himl, stood up and said: ‘Czechoslovakia is a special case. We have a tennis tradition, and we will continue to support tennis.’
The commitment to tennis produced a string of champions, including Lendl, who won ten Major titles, including back-to-back Wimbledon trophies in 1986 and 1987. Lendl would later play a part in more Wimbledon history. He coached Andy Murray to all his Grand Slam wins, including the historic 2013 victory over Novak Djokovic, which ended a 77-year drought for British men.
The country seems to churn out players who emerge from nowhere to reach top status. In 2024, Jiri Lehecka became the youngest man to defeat Rafael Nadal on clay at a Masters 1000 or at Roland Garros. A year later, Lehecka reached the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open. He made it to the fourth round at this year’s Wimbledon.
But no player represents Czech tennis like Navratilova, the grass-court queen.
Czech Women Created A Culture Of Winning
TOPSHOT – Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova kisses the winner’s Venus Rosewater Dish during the presentation after beating Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard in the women’s singles final match on day twelve of the 2014 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 5, 2014. Kvitova stormed to her second Wimbledon title in the shortest women’s final at the All England Club since 1983 as the Czech sixth seed crushed Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0. AFP PHOTO / GLYN KIRK – RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by GLYN KIRK / AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Although Navratilova won only two Wimbledon titles (1978 and 1979) representing Czechoslovakia, she set the standard for women’s tennis in that country. For Czech girls playing tennis, winning Wimbledon went from aspirational and attainable, to expected.
Similar to how Serena and Venus Williams produced a steady stream of African American female players, the Czech women created a cultural expectation.
Even after becoming an American, Navratilova continued to champion women from her native country. When Krejcikova won Wimbledon in 2024, she spoke of her relationship with Novotna, who became a mentor to the younger Czech player.
“I miss her so much,” Krejcikova said of Novotna, who died of cancer in 2017.
The Czech women even dominate doubles. Navratilova won 31 Major doubles titles, including seven at Wimbledon. Siniakova has won 11 Major doubles titles, including three at Wimbledon, two of those with compatriot Krejcikova.
“It’s honestly crazy how many Czech girls were able to win here,” Muchova said in an interview with The Athletic.
“Karolina, she is such a great fighter, such an incredible player, but mainly and mostly she’s a great person,” said Noskova during her on-court interview. “So I am. I’m glad I get to play my first final with her.”
No matter the outcome, it’s another win for the Czechs.
Leave a comment