“ One thing’s for sure. Once you win a Major you know how to do it, feel like you can do it again. You have this feeling inside of you.” — Alexander Zverev, the 2026 French Open champion
Before Alexander Zverev captured his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal advised him to be braver. Now, Zverev had to summon the same winning formula against Jannik Sinner, a much tougher foe than Flavio Cobolli, in the Wimbledon final.
Zverev had talked the talk. When World No. 1 Sinner belted a forehand passing-shot winner and a 134-mph ace for a 7-6 lead and set point in the opening-set tie-break, Sascha had to walk the walk. The 6’6” German responded with ferocity — a 134-mph ace, a cross-court backhand winner, and a 100 mph inside-out forehand winner — to seize the set, 7-6(7).
Zverev’s forehand, previously a passive weak link that stalled his otherwise powerful game, had morphed into an explosive weapon. “His forehand is averaging 10 mph faster than Sinner’s,” said ESPN analyst Andy Roddick. “This is bananas!”
Another startling statistic: Zverev, who used to retreat far behind the baseline, hit 31 per cent of his groundstrokes inside the baseline compared to 29 per cent for the hyper-aggressive Sinner during the tournament.
Although Sinner had won their last nine matches, they had never played on grass before. The rainless fortnight made the courts bone dry. “The court conditions help Zverev,” said ESPN analyst Patrick McEnroe before the final. “It’s almost like playing on hard courts. Zverev has to serve huge on both serves. I really think this match will be a lot closer than people think.”
IBM Watson gave Sinner, a four-time Major winner and the defending champion, a 62 per cent chance of victory, with 1-5 odds for bettors. Those odds became a little more even after Zverev’s impressive opening set.
But could the 29-year-old Zverev maintain his high level to pull off an upset? Not if history was any guide. No man had ever won back-to-back Grand Slam titles after winning his first. Also, was it plausible that Sinner, who racked up a 30-match winning streak early this season, would lose the final and thus not hold any Major titles, his last Slam trophy having come here a year ago?
Sinner took close to four hours to prevail in the final, thereby winning his first Major of the year. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
In the second set, Sinner, the sport’s best returner alongside Novak Djokovic, searched for ways to return efficiently against one of the sport’s best servers. He moved back to 12 feet behind the baseline on second serves, trying for more consistency to somehow get into rallies, where he had the edge.
But Sascha’s second serve averaged 117 mph, about what Roger Federer averaged on first serves during his record eight Wimbledon titles. Sinner’s serve was also impregnable. When he levelled the score at 6-all, it was his 75th straight service hold against Zverev. Mini-breaks would decide the critical second-set tie-break.
Zverev, a diabetic who had monitored his blood sugar level three games earlier, seemed lethargic and tentative in the tie-break. Like a coiled cobra, Sinner pounced and overwhelmed Zverev in nearly every point, prevailing 7-2.
The heat had beaten Sinner at the Australian and French Opens this year, and the slender 6ft 3in Italian was winless (0-9) in matches lasting longer than three hours and 50 minutes. This Wimbledon final fell just four minutes short of that mark, but the relatively mild conditions — 28°C, 38 per cent humidity and an 11-mph cooling breeze — were unlikely to trouble either player. “Zverev’s game plan is spot on,” said ESPN analyst John McEnroe, a three-time Wimbledon champion, before the pivotal third set. “[But] he can’t take his foot off the gas pedal. He has to keep the energy level high.”
The two heavyweights continued to slug away, with neither athlete securing a break point until Sinner served at 3-all, 30-40. The Italian fended it off with a drop-volley winner after Zverev fell on the grass when Sinner’s deceptive forehand stripped his gears. Sascha grimaced as he landed on his right knee.
Renowned for his sportsmanship, Sinner rushed to the other side of the court and helped his opponent up. The Centre Court crowd cheered in appreciation. Sinner held serve with a forehand winner for 4-3.
But Zverev wasn’t as fortunate in the next game on break point when he slipped and fell again. He got up only to miss a forehand and lose his serve. The German flung his racket on the turf in frustration. The Italian had all the momentum now and won nine of the last 11 points, clinching the 6-3 set with an ace.
Exclusive club: Zverev became the first German to make the Wimbledon final since Boris Becker in 1995 and the 13th man in the Open Era to reach all four Grand Slam finals. | Photo Credit: AFP
“Go down swinging”
When Zverev held serve in the opening game of the fourth set, McEnroe advised, “If you go down, go down swinging.” But time was running out for World No. 2 Zverev. Sinner’s box solved the puzzle of how to return Zverev’s second serve. Sinner retreated from 7.5 feet behind the baseline in the first set, to 12 feet in the second, to a whopping 15 feet in the third. There, Sinner had more time to loop serve returns deep and neutralise Zverev’s accurate, high-bouncing serves.
Zverev lost the plot in the fourth set, again ignoring Nadal’s advice and becoming passive. Meanwhile, Sinner became even more aggressive to secure the only service break he would need for a 4-3 lead. When the relentless Italian crushed a timid Zverev forehand with a forehand winner, his team rose in unison, like puppets on strings, and pumped their right fists in celebration.
Two games later, Sinner wrapped up his convincing 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-4 title defence with a forehand winner into the open court.
McEnroe praised the valiant but ultimately outclassed runner-up, saying, “This is a huge step up for Zverev. Remember, he never got past the fourth round before. Sinner lifted his game when he had to. We love Zverev. But Carlos Alcaraz, get back here.”
The pro tour dearly missed the charismatic seven-time Major champion and former No. 1, who has been sidelined with a wrist injury since April. It was uncertain whether Alcaraz, who recently withdrew from the upcoming Canadian Open in Toronto, would return in time to defend his US Open title.
Ironically, Sinner looked vulnerable only in his first match against Miomir Kecmanovic, a husky Serbian with an 11-16 match record who had dropped down to the Challenger circuit to regain his confidence. Sinner, rusty after bypassing the grass-court tune-up events, came back for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Sinner fully regained his A-game for his semifinal showdown with Novak Djokovic. The GOAT upset Sinner in a five-set thriller in the Australian Open semifinals in January when the Serb saved 16 of 18 break points. This time, though, the 39-year-old Djokovic looked more ageing than ageless. He played more defensive than ever and meekly went down 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Always gracious in defeat, Djokovic lavishly praised the versatile offence of the young superstar. “Attack his first serve? You cannot,” the Serbian explained. “You can try to read it, chip it, block it, get it back in play. Very unpredictable serve, great variety, great balance, great pop. He’s using his height extremely well. Also, the second serve is very deep in the box. A lot of rotation. He can go for speed. He’s just super solid. He backs it up with the first aggressive shot. If you play a shorter return, you’re again, on your back foot. It’s really, really tough to play him, particularly when he serves.”
Fading force: Novak Djokovic looked more ageing than ageless in his semifinal loss to Sinner. AFP | Photo Credit: AFP
The fact that Djokovic, a part-time player this year competing in only his fifth tournament, made the semifinals was a remarkable testament to his elite longevity. Incredibly, since 2003, there has been at least one member of the Big Three in every Wimbledon semifinal.
But the Herculean effort required to outlast No. 3 Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(4) in their 5-hour, 15-minute quarterfinal likely cost Djokovic any chance of upsetting Sinner, even with two days of rest.
With spectators chanting “Nole! Nole!”, their sentimental favourite channelled memories of his 10-2 record in five-set Wimbledon matches. Djokovic dominated the match tie-break, highlighted by an enthralling 21-shot power rally that he won for an insurmountable 9-4 lead.
After capturing the most entertaining and enthralling match of the fortnight, Djokovic told the crowd, “It was really anyone’s match in the super tie-break. These are the kind of moments I still play tennis for.” Roddick, who once played contemporaneously with a young Djokovic, marvelled at the veteran’s performance, saying, “It was a fantastic show of physicality. I don’t know how he does it at 39.”
Fery-tale showing
British hopes were dashed when former No. 4 Jack Draper withdrew due to a recurrence of a left-arm injury after reaching the Eastbourne semifinals, and veteran left-hander Cameron Norrie lost a five-set marathon to American college star Michael Zheng. Not to worry, though. Little-known Arthur Fery, a 5’9” giantkiller, filled that void with a Fery-tale semifinal run (if you’ll excuse the pun).
Born in Sevres, France, he attended high school in England and starred in tennis at Stanford University in the U.S. His mother, Olivia, competed on the pro tour, appearing in the 1991 Roland Garros women’s doubles draw, and his father, Loic, is a French businessman and the president of football club FC Lorient. The 24-year-old Fery, who lives a convenient five minutes from Wimbledon, burst onto the pro scene with a stunning 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-1 victory over No. 22 seed Cobolli at the Australian Open.
It was no fluke. Wimbledon awarded No. 114-ranked Fery a wild card, and the 500-1 longshot toppled Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen (who had upset Ben Shelton), Zizou Bergs (who knocked out No. 27 Ugo Humbert) 7-6 in the fifth set, former Wimbledon semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 in the fifth set, and No. 9 Cobolli 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-0 in the quarterfinals.
The marathon match between Fery and Dimitrov, also a wild card, proved another heartbreaker for the 35-year-old Bulgarian, who was touted as ‘Baby Fed’ early in his career for his athletic and stylistic resemblance to Federer. A year ago, Dimitrov built a stunning 6-3, 7-5, 2-2 lead against eventual champion Sinner before injuring his pectoral muscle and writhing in pain. For the fifth Major in a row, Dimitrov was forced to retire.
Wildcard Arthur Fery produced a stunning run to reach the semifinals before falling to Zverev. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
This year, the favoured Dimitrov suffered a less cruel but still disappointing fate. With boisterous British fans cheering every Fery point won and gasping at every point lost, and Federer watching from the Royal Box, Dimitrov was twice up a service break in the fourth set.
But the dogged Fery battled back to take the set and eventually forced a fifth-set match tie-break. As the drama reached its climax, the crowd grew louder and louder. With the local lad down 6-5, was his Cinderella run about to end?
The baby-faced assassin, not the least bit intimidated on his Centre Court debut, rallied to prevail 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(7) to make a Slam quarterfinal for the first time. “The support was phenomenal,” an ecstatic Fery told the still-cheering crowd. “Five sets against an absolute legend. I grew up five minutes from here, watching matches on this court. Yeah, it’s unbelievable. It’s a dream of mine.”
The dream run continued with a sensational rout of Cobolli, after which he said, “It gets better and better every match. I just can’t believe it.” If that weren’t exhilarating enough, Queen Camilla exchanged pleasantries with Fery afterwards. “She congratulated me. I told her how much of an honour it was for me to play in front of her. She just said, ‘Congratulations, keep going.’ I told her it was my birthday on Sunday, so it would be great to play the Wimbledon final on my birthday.”
Alas, such a wonderful scenario was not to be. In a David-vs-Goliath semifinal, with luminaries including Hugh Laurie, Dustin Hoffman and Sachin Tendulkar in the Royal Box, the towering Zverev crushed Fery 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-4. With 135 mph serves streaking past — and sometimes above — Fery, who has an average bounce height of 5’3”, the German set the tone with what McEnroe called “the most impressive tiebreaker you’ll ever see”.
The lopsided victory gave Zverev an outstanding 18-1 record in Majors this year as he became the first German to make the Wimbledon final since Boris Becker in 1995 and the 13th man in the Open Era to reach all four Grand Slam finals.
“Sascha has improved his second serve and forehand so much, and his volley,” said former No. 1 Jim Courier. “He was roping inside-out forehands in triple digits.”
Zverev had lost three of his previous four Major finals. But would his career-changing Roland Garros title free him to again unleash all his potent weapons and be braver, as Nadal advised?
Before the championship match, Zverev said, “I’m getting older. I’m getting better. I have to trust myself.”
For nearly two sets, Sascha did just that, until he didn’t, faltering yet again against his nemesis, Sinner.
As Zverev said while congratulating Sinner, “He showed once again why he’s the best player in the world.”
NOSKOVA CZECH-MATES MUCHOVA IN THRILLING FINAL
“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two imposters just the same …” – words above the players’ entrance to Wimbledon’s Centre Court, from Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem If.
Landmark victory: At 21, Linda Noskova etched her name into history as the youngest Wimbledon champion since Petra Kvitova’s triumph in 2011. | Photo Credit: AFP
Minutes after Linda Noskova squandered five championship points and lost the second set of the Wimbledon final, she walked through the All England Club for a short break. She spotted the Venus Rosewater Dish and stared at what was once so near yet now seemed so far away.
Asked what she was then thinking, after her riveting 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 final victory, Noskova told ESPN, “I’m going to get that trophy no matter what.”
Karolina Muchova, her good friend and Olympics doubles partner, had seized the momentum in what was the first Wimbledon final for both. Noskova admitted, “My hand kind of froze at the end of the second set. I have never been in such a situation. The pressure was definitely on. I just had to reset and tell myself that I can do this all over again in the third set.”
Would Noskova, a 100-1 long shot, falter under the pressure as her compatriot Jana Novotna did in the 1993 Wimbledon final after blowing a championship point against Steffi Graf? Or, even worse, suffer the complete meltdown that befell nerve-stricken Amanda Anisimova when she was shut out by Iga Swiatek in the 2025 Big W final?
Neither, as it turned out. Noskova’s sound strokes and power game — likened to that of former No. 1 Lindsay Davenport — regained the potency that had given her a 6-2, 5-2 lead before she made the classic mistake of taking her foot off the gas and letting her opponent back into the match. Muchova smartly capitalised on the lapse with aggressive forehands and low-bouncing slice backhands.
Noskova looked shaky in the critical opening game of the deciding set but managed to save three break points, two with forehand winners. The tide turned for good in the next game when she broke Muchova’s serve for a 2-0 lead.
In the next game, Noskova faced her last crisis. Muchova fashioned a backhand passing-shot winner for break point and pumped her fist.
Noskova grabbed the next three points, including a forehand winner, to take a 3-0 advantage. With Noskova serving at 3-1, 15-love, Muchova hit a tweener off a terrific Noskova lob, but it was to no avail. Noskova finished off the point with a forehand winner and then held serve for 4-1. At 5-3, 15-all, Noskova wrapped up her first Grand Slam title with a crosscourt forehand winner, a 110-mph ace up the middle, and an explosive first serve that ricocheted off Muchova’s racket.
In a victory gesture of joy, relief, and perhaps some disbelief, Noskova collapsed on her back and put her hands over her face. When she got up, she smiled broadly, embraced Muchova, and then sat down and covered her head with a towel to perhaps process her life-changing triumph. Then, as the crowd applauded and cheered some more, she climbed into the stands to hug her father, coach, and others in her player box.
Eight years older than Noskova at 29, Karolina Muchova has for years drawn raves for her exceptional athleticism and stylish all-court game. | Photo Credit: AP
Despite the disappointing loss, Muchova didn’t lose her sense of humour during the trophy presentation, which featured Her Royal Highness Catherine, Princess of Wales. Fighting off some tears, Muchova quipped, “It’s tough to find any words, but I’ll start with Linda, my ex-friend. I’m kidding … sort of.”
Noskova’s speech was just as touching and endearing. “It feels incredible,” she said. “All these matches have been so tough physically and mentally. I’m so glad I could play my first Grand Slam final with you. I think we made history today.” They sure did, becoming the first two players from the same country to contest a Grand Slam singles final since Serena Williams beat her sister Venus in the 2017 Australian Open final. She was also the youngest Wimbledon champion since compatriot Petra Kvitova in 2011.
“I want to thank my dad for coming here,” Noskova continued. “I want to thank my mom. I definitely would not be standing here without her.” Her mother passed away two years ago. As she shed a few tears, she said, “I don’t cry normally.”
Gauff’s gaffe
Both players had narrowly escaped defeat before the final. Noskova had stared down a match point in her third-round comeback 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(9) win over No. 17-seeded Sorana Cirstea, who led 7-5 in the match tie-break.
Muchova also staved off a match point against No. 7 seed Coco Gauff in their riveting, fluctuating, and always unpredictable 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(10) duel. Gauff had match point serving at 9-8 in the tie-break but inexplicably blew it. With a weak, shoulder-high ball she should have pounded, she choked and tapped a forehand drop shot into the net. “That will haunt her in her sleep,” said ESPN analyst Caroline Wozniacki.
“That match tie-break had everything,” said ESPN analyst Mary Joe Fernandez. “Muchova went all out to hit forehands and avoid backhands. She was the one to take it to Coco. To win this tournament, you have to be brave.” Muchova, who had lost her first six matches to Gauff and then won matches on clay and grass, told Tennis Channel, “If I’m going to lose, I’m going to lose on my own terms. I like to entertain and create. That’s the way I’ve played since I was a kid.”
In the other semifinal, Noskova stopped No. 12 seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, 6-4, 6-4. A former gymnast, Kostyuk switched to tennis because she had to be careful with her weight. “There was so much stress,” she recalled. An elite athlete, Kostyuk quickly excelled in tennis, winning the Australian Open junior title at age 14. “It was almost like a curse,” she said.
“We’ve had great expectations since she was a great junior,” said Wozniacki. But like many elite juniors, she initially struggled on the pro tour. Highly emotional and anguished by the Russian invasion and bombs that landed near her parents’ home, Kostyuk said, “I worked hard not to define myself by winning or losing.” After she upset Mirra Andreeva in the Madrid Open final, she did a backflip that went viral. At Wimbledon, Kostyuk used her power and foot speed to eliminate 23rd-seeded Emma Navarro and 2024 Roland Garros and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini.
Costly miss: In her semifinal against Muchova, Coco Gauff blew a match point serving 9-8 in the final set tie-break. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Noskova’s low-key upbringing in Bystřička, a village of less than 1,000 people in the Vsetín region of the Czech Republic, may account for her serene disposition on the hotly competitive WTA Tour. Though her tennis-playing parents introduced her to the game at age seven, she also enjoyed other sports and activities. “When I started, tennis was more of a hobby for me,” she recalled. “I didn’t expect to be here in a few years.” Her talent blossomed under the astute coaching of Tomáš Krupa, and at 16, she won the 2021 French Open girls’ title.
Eight years older than Noskova at 29, Muchova has for years drawn raves for her exceptional athleticism and stylish all-court game. Unfortunately, injuries have often derailed her career and, amazingly, she has won only three career titles, two of which came this year at Bad Homburg and Doha. Before this Wimbledon, the 5’11” Muchova had reached only one Slam final, at the 2023 French Open. It also ended in a heartbreaking defeat. She was twice ahead by a service break against Iga Swiatek, then the Queen of Clay, in the deciding set, before bowing 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
Czech recipe for success
Both Noskova and Muchova racked up 11-1 records on grass this season going into the final, and Noskova leads the Tour with 19 wins on grass since 2025. That may surprise tennis fans, given the Czech Republic has no grass courts. Asked how this country of 10.9 million people produces so many great players, Czech-born Martina Navratilova, who amassed 58 Major titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, told Tennis Channel, “Inexpensive access [to tennis], great coaching, and they play sets at the clubs so they’re ready for pro tournaments.” Former No. 1 Wozniacki offered a fourth reason. “They see all the great Czech players before them and think, why not me?”
Indeed, three of the last four Wimbledon singles champions came through the Czech system — Barbora Krejcikova in 2023, Marketa Vondrousova in 2024, and now Noskova. In doubles, current No. 1 Katerina Siniakova has captured 11 Grand Slam titles (seven with Krejcikova) and an Olympic gold medal.
None of the pre-tournament favourites, except for Gauff, reached the semifinals. Naomi Osaka overpowered the slumping world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 7-6(2) to make her first Wimbledon quarterfinal. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had so much fun on a court,” Osaka said afterwards. The sport’s leading fashionista, Osaka optimistically brought seven outfits — as Venus Williams used to do — but Muchova stopped her run, 7-6(4), 6-4, in her fifth match.
Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon and 2026 Australian champion, was upset by Mertens 7-6(4), 6-1 in the third round. Defending champion Swiatek was dethroned 7-6(9), 6-2 by 29th-seeded Alexandra Eala, an immensely popular Filipina, whom Mary Joe Fernandez touted as “a rising superstar.”
Brave run: Rising No. 12 seed Marta Kostyuk fell to Noskova in the other semifinal. AFP | Photo Credit: AFP
Krejcikova, the versatile, savvy two-time Major champion, outlasted No. 5-seeded Andreeva, the recent Roland Garros queen, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. And in a battle of American power hitters, No. 6-seeded and defending finalist Amanda Anisimova, hampered by a flurry of forehand errors and a negative attitude, was ousted by Madison Keys 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
What about the legend Serena Williams, now a 44-year-old mother of two daughters? Nearly four years ago at the US Open, she supposedly played her last match but refused to say she had retired, instead insisting she was “evolving away” from the pro tour. Accepting a wild card, the ultimate warrior of yesteryear played Maya Joint, an undersized, 20-year-old Australian who had idolised Serena as a child but had lost her previous 11 matches.
Before a packed, curious crowd, including a female spectator in a T-shirt with ‘Unstoppable Queen’ printed on it, Serena lacked the power, mobility, and match toughness of her 23-Major-title prime and predictably succumbed 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3. Serena, who tweaked her right knee at the end of the first set, pulled out of the doubles, which she had entered with Venus.
That early sideshow was soon overshadowed by two Czech mates. Noskova became the tenth different woman to win Wimbledon since 2016, when Queen Serena captured her seventh and last ladies’ crown on the hallowed lawns of the All England Club.
This women’s tennis parity — or depth, as the WTA likes to say — extends to all surfaces. Noskova became the seventh different Grand Slam champion since the start of 2025. But spreading wealth too much has its downsides: no captivating superstars or compelling rivalries like the legendary men’s Big Three or the new Big Two.
Will Noskova — who has all the shots, athleticism, and the poise — be the one to step up and become the sport’s next superstar?
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Published on Jul 17, 2026