Kostyuk and Noskova reach first Wimbledon semifinals after wins over Paolini and Mertens

Wimbledon 2026: Noskova, Kostyuk Reach Semifinals; Eye Maiden Grand Slam Final

London, July 8: Linda Noskova of Czechia reached her first Grand Slam semifinal, securing her place in the last four stage of Wimbledon 2026 by beating Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-5 on No.1 Court at the All-England Lawn Tennis Club in London on Wednesday.Noskova reaches maiden semi-finalThe Czech No.9 seed broke the Belgian once in each set and showed big-match maturity beyond her 21 years. Noskova had reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year and is the youngest semifinalist at the All-England Club since Jelena Ostapenko in 2018.Noskova will play Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the last four to guarantee a first-time Grand Slam finalist.Novak Djokovic Defies Time in Record-Breaking 5-Hour, 15-Minute Longest Wimbledon Quarter-final Match to Reach Historic 15th Semi-final | VideoKostyuk continues strong runKostyuk continued her impressive run by brushing aside Italy's Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 on Centre Court on Wednesday to reach her maiden Wimbledon semifinal and second consecutive Grand Slam semifinal.The 12th seed took just one hour and nine minutes to defeat last year's runner-up. This win brings her impressive record to 21 victories in her last 22 matches on the WTA Tour. It also follows her semifinal finish at the 2026 French Open, showing her growing consistency at major tournaments.Kostyuk dominates PaoliniPlaying on Centre Court for the first time, Kostyuk showcased an aggressive style. She hit 19 winners, including several eye-catching return winners, keeping Paolini under constant pressure.Also Watch:Paolini struggled in the opening set, racking up 15 unforced errors. This allowed Kostyuk to take control of the match. The turning point came in the fifth game when the Ukrainian hit a forehand return winner off a hesitant second serve to gain a key break. From that moment on, she played confidently and didn’t let the Italian back into the match.Kostyuk continued her strong performance in the second set. She used her powerful baseline game and accurate returns to secure the victory in just 69 minutes, securing her spot in the final four at the All England Club for the first time.(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

4 hours ago

Marta Kostyuk and Linda Noskova roar into their first Wimbledon semi-finals

French Open semi-finalist Kostyuk beats Paolini 6-3, 6-2Czech No 9 seed Noskova defeats Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-5A lot has been made of how open the women’s draw at Wimbledon is this year, even before the defending champion, Iga Swiatek, and the world’s top two, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, all fell in the first week. But sometimes it pays to be aware of the in-form players, whoever they are, and so it was no surprise to see Marta Kostyuk and Linda Noskova march into the semi-finals.Kostyuk, the Ukrainian 12th seed who reached the semi-finals at the French Open last month, crushed the 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 on Centre Court while the 21-year-old Noskova, seeded ninth, saw off Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-3, 7-5 to make it 10 wins out of 11 on grass this year. Continue reading...

5 hours ago