Coco Gauff of the United States reacts after losing a point against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in their semifinal women's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

2026-07-09T15:17:38Z

LONDON (AP) — Karolina Muchova ended Coco Gauff’s run at Wimbledon with a 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10) victory Thursday that ended with a drama-filled tiebreaker, to become the fourth Czech woman in the last six years to reach the final of the grass-court Grand Slam.

It will be the ninth-ranked Muchova’s second Grand Slam final after losing to Iga Swiatek in the 2023 French Open championship match.

Muchova could face another Czech player in Saturday’s final, with Linda Noskova to play Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in the other semifinal next on Centre Court.

The other Czech women in the Wimbledon final recently were: Karolina Pliskova (runner-up in 2021); Marketa Vondrousova (champion in 2023); and Barbora Krejcikova (champion in 2024).

For Gauff, it was still her most successful Wimbledon. Previously, the seventh-ranked American had gone only as far as the fourth round three times – including during her breakthrough run as a 15-year-old in 2019.

The men’s semifinals on Friday feature top-ranked and defending champion Jannik Sinner against seven-time Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic and French Open champion Alexander Zverev against British wild card Arthur Fery.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

ANDREW DAMPF





Dampf has been a Rome-based sports writer at The AP for more than 20 years, covering soccer, tennis, Alpine skiing and many other events in Italy and beyond, including five soccer World Cups and 10 Olympics.















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