Karolina Muchova is through to her first Wimbledon final after beating Coco Gauff in a thrilling three-set clash, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6.
After coming back from a set down to win in her last two matches of the tournament, Gauff came close to making it a hat trick when forcing Muchova to a tiebreak in the decider.
But after the American squandered a golden opportunity at the net on match point, the Czech star held her nerve to see out the shootout 12-10 and advance to the title bout.
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At 29 years and 312 days, Muchova is the oldest player to make the women’s singles final at Wimbledon since Nathalie Tauziat in 1998 (30 years and 249 days).
By beating Gauff, the 10th seed at this year’s Championships has just achieved a feat only four other women have ever managed.
Karolina Muchova joins exclusive club after beating Coco Gauff
Muchova is now the fifth player in the Open Era to defeat three former Grand Slam champions in the second week en route to a major final, according to Opta Ace.
She joins Chris Evert (Wimbledon 1978), Serena Williams (US Open 1999 and Wimbledon 2015), Elena Rybakina (Australian Open 2023) and Ons Jabeur (Wimbledon 2023).
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After winning her first three matches at Wimbledon in straight sets, Muchova was faced with two-time major champion Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round.
She beat the 2024 Wimbledon winner and then overcame four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in straight sets to make the semifinals.
Following her win over 2023 US Open and 2025 Roland Garros champion Gauff, Muchova will now play in her second Grand Slam final.
Karolina Muchova’s last appearance in a Grand Slam final
Muchova’s only previous appearance in a Grand Slam final came at the 2023 edition of Roland Garros.
The three-time title winner put together a remarkable run at the French Open that year, dropping just one set en route to the semifinals.
In the final four, she met second seed Aryna Sabalenka and triumphed over the Belarusian in a tight three-setter.
But Muchova was denied in the final by defending champion Iga Swiatek, who went on to complete the three-peat in Paris the year after.
Since then, Muchova has made two semifinals at the US Open, but has not managed to reach a final at one of the four biggest tournaments in tennis.
Prior to this year, she had failed to win her first-round match at Wimbledon in the last four editions of the Championships.
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