Wimbledon will crown a first-time women’s singles champion on Saturday after Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova secured an all-Czech final, the first between two players from the same nation at a major since 2017. Muchova, the 29-year-old world number nine, saved a match point in a nerve-shredding 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(12-10) victory over American Coco Gauff, while the 21-year-old Noskova dispatched Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-4 with composed efficiency.

The Muchova-Gauff semi-final swung wildly. Muchova dominated the opening set, breaking twice and sealing it with a 111mph ace, but Gauff, who had rallied from a set down in four previous matches at this tournament, roared back to level with a 6-1 second set. The decider stayed on serve until a super tiebreak that produced both breathtaking shot-making and costly errors. Gauff held match point at 9-8 on her own serve but dumped a forehand drop shot into the net. Muchova then squandered her first match point when she slipped approaching the net, only to convert her second as Gauff’s forehand found the net. “It was a rollercoaster,” Muchova said afterwards. “I’m shaking, trying to sink it in.” The Czech, who manages a grass allergy with pills, sprays and eyedrops, has now won 10 consecutive matches on the surface.

Noskova’s path was less turbulent. She broke Kostyuk in the final game of each set, closing out the match in 79 minutes. The result means the Czech Republic, a nation of under 11 million, will have a third different Wimbledon women’s champion in four years, following Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova in 2024. Viewed from Prague, the final is the latest proof of a tennis pipeline that has produced champions from Martina Navratilova to Petra Kvitova, and which now sees two compatriots contest a major singles final for the first time.

Muchova, a 2023 French Open runner-up, has overcome a series of injuries, including wrist surgery that sidelined her for 10 months. Noskova, the Berlin Open champion, is in her first major final. The winner will rise to a career-high ranking: Muchova could reach No. 4, Noskova No. 7. For Gauff, the defeat ended a tournament in which she had repeatedly fought back from the brink, but her missed match point will be remembered as a decisive turning point. The final guarantees a first-time Grand Slam champion and reinforces the Czech Republic’s remarkable hold on the women’s game at the All England Club.