A lot has been made of how open the women’s draw is – even before the defending champion, Iga Swiatek, and the world’s top two, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, 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.
Kostyuk was at her devastating best as she ripped through Paolini, crushing 19 winners, many of them on her blistering forehand return, one of which was clocked at 96mph. She served brilliantly, losing three points on serve in the first set and did not face a break point, while she broke twice in each set.
Her outstanding athleticism, born of her experience in gymnastics as a young girl, was on show as she retrieved numerous balls that might have been winners against anyone else, before turning defence into attack.
No one has more wins in 2026 than Kostyuk and though she did not play a warm-up event on grass she showed no sign of that against Paolini, making a mockery of this being her debut on Centre Court.
“First of all, hello Centre Court, first time playing on this incredible court,” she said. “Winning here was not even in plans, I just wanted to come out here and put on a show.”
Her coach, Sandra Zaniewska, insisted she check out the venue beforehand, visualising what she would experience. It proved to be a wise move.
“Thank God my coach made me walk here yesterday,” Kostyuk said. “I was flabbergasted by this entrance. I needed one day to recover from what I saw.
“I was on this court as a spectator once nine years ago watching Roger [Federer]. It was so special. I made like a walk of honour on the Centre Court [on Tuesday], took a moment and soaked it all in.”
Like Kostyuk, Noskova was appearing in her first quarter-final here, but continued her brilliant grass-court form. She has won more matches on grass (18) than anyone in the past two years and her big serve and powerful ground strokes were too much for Mertens.
The Belgian, a six-time grand slam winner in doubles, was broken once in each set as Noskova reached the last four of a grand slam tournament for the first time. With Karolina Muchova taking on Coco Gauff in the other semi-final on Thursday, there is a distinct possibility of a first all-Czech final and a sixth Czech women’s winner, following Martina Navratilova, Jana Novotna, Petra Kvitova, Marketa Vondrousova and Barbora Krejcikova.
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“The feelings are incredible, like never before,” Noskova said. “This is what I’m playing for, these big matches, big stages, big courts. It’s a special feeling.
“I was a little bit nervous before the match. Usually, when I am feeling a little nervous it means I care a lot. I was really enjoying this match.”
Kostyuk and Noskova, who are now 10th and 11th in the live rankings, have faced each other once before, with the Ukrainian winning in Madrid in May. That, though, was on clay, and Noskova’s run to the title in Berlin last month, where she beat Alexandra Eala and then Jessica Pegula in the final, will give her confidence.
With temperatures expected to be 33C on Thursday, the heat could also be a factor. “I’m sure people are happy with the weather in London, but not us on court,” Kostyuk said. “But I’m just happy to be back out here.”
