Wimbledon 2026 witnessed a day of firsts and record moments on Wednesday, July 8, as two rising stars booked their maiden Grand Slam semifinal spots at the All England Club. Czech ninth seed Linda Noskova and Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk gave beautiful, extraordinary performances to defeat Elise Mertens and Jasmine Paolini, respectively, setting up a blockbuster semifinal clash between two players chasing their first Wimbledon final appearance.
Linda Noskova downs Elise Mertens to reach first Grand Slam semi-final
Linda Noskova became the second Czech woman into this year’s Wimbledon semi-finals, beating Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-3 7-5 in an under-the-radar matchup.
The ninth seed, who has been rising stealthily up the rankings this year, pummelled the experienced Mertens, 30, with powerful returns, pinpoint groundstrokes, and the occasional surprising drop shot in baking lunchtime heat on Court One.
Mertens, six times a Grand Slam doubles champion and seeded 25th in the singles here, had to work hard for her service games, saving nine break points.
The 21-year-old Noskova broke her stubborn resistance in the eighth game of the first set and 11th of the second and served out the win with a big serve that the Belgian could only send wide, to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final.
Noskova joins compatriot Karolina Muchova in Thursday’s semi-finals. She will face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, who beat Jasmine Paolini of Italy, for a place in Saturday’s final.
Marta Kostyuk makes quick work of Jasmine Paolini to take Wimbledon semi-final slot
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk made quick work of Italy’s 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini on a sweltering Centre Court to speed into the Wimbledon semi-finals 6-3 6-2.Â
The 12th seed was a woman in a hurry from the start as she took the first set in 36 minutes, breaking Paolini to go 3-2 up and then again at 5-3.
The 24-year-old, appearing in the Wimbledon singles quarter-finals and on Centre Court for the first time, had lost her last two meetings with her 13th seeded opponent but used her powerful forehand to telling effect in an impressive victory.
She broke Paolini again to take a 3-1 lead in the second set, with the Italian not getting a sniff of a break point, and then held serve.
With Queen Camilla watching from the Royal Box, the crowd tried to cheer on the underdog but Kostyuk closed out remorselessly on 69 minutes with a second match point on the Italian’s serve.
(With inputs from Reuters)
