Wimbledon winner Noskova: A triumph for her mother

The 21-year-old Czech woman stopped after that 6:2, 5:7, 6:3 against her fellow countrywoman Karolina Muchova the Venus Rosewater Dish in his hands as a trophy for success at the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. She sent a kiss to the sky, looked up and had tears in her eyes.

“There’s one more person I want to thank. That’s my mom. I definitely wouldn’t be standing here without her,” Noskova said.

Her mother Ivana died two years ago, right before the start of Wimbledon. Noskova, then only 19 years old, still played and won a match at the London lawn tournament for the first time. Now, after a Czech final that was like a roller coaster ride, she has won Wimbledon – becoming the third Czech in four years. And as the youngest tennis player since 2011, when her compatriot Petra Kvitova triumphed.

Proud father

Tennis icon Martina Navratilova was moved to tears by Noskova’s emotional speech in the Royal Box. Noskova’s father Drahos Nosek, who had been cheering in the stands, proudly took his daughter in his arms when she came to him before the award ceremony.

The final between two tennis friends came to an emotional end. Noskova and Muchova know each other well and played doubles together at the 2024 Olympic Games in France. The friendship had to be put on hold for this penultimate day of the two-week Grand Slam tournament.

A moment earlier, the defeated Muchova had begun her speech by calling Noskova “my ex-girlfriend.” “I’m joking, of course,” she said. “You’re so young and it was your first Grand Slam final – and the way you handled it was really incredible.”

overtime

The match could have ended earlier. Berlin winner Noskova clearly dominated. She was heading for a win in just 68 minutes, but in the end she was only declared the winner after almost two and a half hours. At 5:2 in the second set she had the first three match points, at 5:3 and at 5:4 she had one more each. Only one was on her own serve when she made a double fault. “My hand literally froze in some moments. I couldn’t move as quickly anymore,” said Noskova. In the meantime she put her fingers in her ears to block out the noise of the spectators. She hid under one of the strawberry-red Wimbledon towels during the break.

Noskova lost five games in a row and the second set, and what felt like a new match began again. She disappeared from the pitch – and passed the trophies that were waiting for her. A crucial moment for the 21-year-old to deliver a mentally mature performance in the third set and use the sixth match point with a cracking serve. The biggest victory of her career.