Muchova beats Gauff in tie-break thriller to reach first Wimbledon final

Karolina Muchova fought off a match point in a dramatic third-set tie-break to defeat Coco Gauff 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (12-10) in the Wimbledon semifinals on Thursday, advancing to her first Grand Slam final on grass.

The 10th-seeded Muchova, who has undergone multiple surgeries, showed remarkable resilience, including a diving volley that left the crowd stunned. After the match, a trembling Muchova said: "It sounds really nice to be in the final. It was a rollercoaster."

All-Czech final

With Linda Noskova defeating Marta Kostyuk in the other semifinal, the duo will contest the first all-Czech women's final at Wimbledon. It also means that for the third time in four years, a Czech player will lift the Venus Rosewater Dish, following Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova in 2024.

Gauff, who had come through four consecutive three-set matches, squandered a match point at 9-8 in the tie-break when she netted a dropshot. The American admitted she got "super close" and would think about the last points, but added she left everything on the court.

Online abuse concerns

After the loss, Gauff said she expected hate messages online, particularly from angry bettors. "Bettors who lose, who are mad and stuff. It's the usual," she said. In 2024, tennis governing bodies launched an AI tool called "Threat Matrix" to monitor social media abuse, verifying approximately 8,000 abusive, violent or threatening messages that year.