Kostyuk and Noskova reach Wimbledon semis

Marta Kostyuk and Linda Noskova moved into their first Wimbledon semifinals on Wednesday after straight-set quarterfinal wins at the All England Club. Kostyuk, the No. 12 seed from Ukraine, beat Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 on Centre Court in her debut on the main show court, while ninth-seeded Noskova of Czechia defeated 25th-seeded Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-5 on No. 1 Court. Wimbledon’s official results page listed both matches as completed on Day 10 of the tournament. The wins set up a semifinal between Kostyuk and Noskova on Thursday, July 9, with the other women’s semifinal between Karolina Muchova and Coco Gauff on the same day, according to Wimbledon’s order of play. The 2026 women’s draw will produce a first-time Wimbledon champion, with no former title winner left in the field. (wimbledon.com) ### How did Kostyuk get through Paolini so quickly? Marta Kostyuk beat Paolini in 69 minutes and did not face a break point, according to Wimbledon’s match recap. Wimbledon said Kostyuk raised her average groundstroke speed to 74 mph, hit 19 winners and took advantage of Paolini’s 15 unforced errors in the first set. Jasmine Paolini entered as the only former Wimbledon finalist left in the women’s draw after finishing runner-up in 2024. (wimbledon.com) ESPN reported that the Italian made 26 unforced errors and hit eight winners in the loss. “First of all, hello Centre Court,” Kostyuk said in her on-court interview, according to Wimbledon. (wimbledon.com) She said she had walked around the stadium the day before because she was “flabbergasted” by the court and wanted time to take it in before playing there. ### What stood out in Noskova’s win over Mertens? Linda Noskova beat Mertens 6-3, 7-5 and held serve in all 11 of her service games, ESPN reported. (espn.com) The outlet said she won 79% of her first-serve points, her highest rate in a match during this year’s tournament. Elise Mertens pushed the second set to 5-5 before Noskova closed it out. (wimbledon.com) Olympics.com said Noskova had to withstand a second-set charge from the 30-year-old Belgian before finishing the match in straight sets. “It’s going to be a battle,” Noskova said when told she would face Kostyuk in the semifinals, according to Olympics.com. “Marta, she’s an incredible player.” (espn.com) ### Why is this semifinal lineup unusual? The 2026 tournament is the first Wimbledon in the Open era to feature four first-time women’s semifinalists, ESPN reported. (olympics.com) The final four are Gauff, Muchova, Kostyuk and Noskova. Kostyuk became only the second Ukrainian woman to reach the Wimbledon semifinals after Elina Svitolina, Wimbledon said. (olympics.com) Noskova, 21, reached her first Grand Slam semifinal and improved to 10-1 on grass this season, according to ESPN. ### What do the numbers say about their form? Kostyuk has won 21 of her last 22 matches, a run Wimbledon said includes titles in Rouen and Madrid and a semifinal appearance at Roland Garros. (espn.com) Noskova leads the women’s tour with 18 grass-court wins over the last two seasons, according to ESPN research cited by the network. The two players have met once before, with Kostyuk winning on clay in Madrid earlier this year, Olympics.com reported. (wimbledon.com) That result sends them into Thursday’s semifinal with one prior head-to-head match on record. ### When do they play next? Wimbledon’s July 9 order of play lists the women’s semifinals on Centre Court beginning at 1:30 p.m. local time. (wimbledon.com) The schedule names Karolina Muchova and Marta Kostyuk first, with Coco Gauff and Linda Noskova also listed for the same session, and the winners will advance to the women’s singles final on Saturday, July 11. (wimbledon.com) (olympics.com)