Wimbledon semifinals: A new champion is guaranteed, but who reaches the final?

WIMBLEDON -- The 2026 Championships at Wimbledon are down to the final four, and a new Wimbledon champion is guaranteed. 

Two top 15 matchups are in store in the semifinals at the All England Club. No. 7 seed Coco Gauff will face No. 10 seed Karolina Muchova for the third time this season, and No. 12 seed Marta Kostyuk battles No. 9 seed Linda Noskova for a spot in either player's first-ever Grand Slam final on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.

Here's everything to know about Thursday's semifinals:

Order of play: July 9

Centre Court
1:30 p.m.: [7] Coco Gauff (USA) vs. [10] Karolina Muchova (CZE) 
Followed by: [9] Linda Noskova (CZE) vs. [12] Marta Kostyuk (UKR)

Gauff vs. Muchova preview

Head-to-Head: Gauff leads 6-1
Last meeting: Muchova d. Gauff 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 at 2026 Stuttgart quarterfinals

When Gauff won match point in her quarterfinal vs. Jessica Pegula, she looked to her box and shouted 'Oh my God, how?' It's safe to say Gauff exceeded her expectations for Wimbledon and her grass season as a whole. Entering the All England Club in 2026, she hadn't won on the surface in two years, and now she's the youngest player since Maria Sharapova in 2007 to reach the semifinals at all four Grand Slams. 

Part of Gauff's disbelief has been the three-set matches she's won throughout the tournament, including victories over Pegula, 2025 semifinalist Belinda Bencic, Claire Liu and Solana Sierra in a 10-point tiebreak. Gauff discussed in press about how she's defeated opponents whose games are more suited to the grass surface, such as counteracting the low, flat shots and aggressive style that Pegula employs. 

She'll face Muchova next, and despite the outnumbered head to head, the Czech won their most recent meeting, and this will mark their first encounter on grass.

"If you told me I would be in the semis of this tournament, I'd be, 'You're funny,'" Gauff laughed to press. "Especially my match in Berlin, the match last year here, the last two years just not winning anything on here.

"I think it was just more like how too just because so many three-setters, and it's like how am I getting out of these matches, just winning them. I'm confident in myself and the player that I am."

Not only did Gauff join an elite club Tuesday by reaching all Grand Slam semifinals, her opponent, Muchova, did the same with her win over Naomi Osaka in a rematch of the Bad Homburg final. Muchova is now the eighth active player to achieve the feat. 

The Czech is having the best grass season of her career, and more broadly, the best season of her career. She's won two titles, Doha and Bad Homburg, and also reached the final in Stuttgart.

Her game-style is more distinct that what Gauff saw vs. Pegula as Muchova likes to include variety with slices but also prefers to build the game on her forehand. A win would see Muchova into her second Grand Slam final, three years after her runner-up finish at Roland Garros. 

"One of the best in the world, in our sport," Muchova said to press on Gauff. "It was tough to play against her. I'm happy we have 0-0 on the grass. That's a bit better balance for me there.

"She gives you a lot of balls back. She has a lot of weapons. She is big fighter, which as well gives a lot of things to her game to make it awkward for me."

Noskova vs. Kostyuk preview

Head-to-Head: Kostyuk leads 1-0
Last meeting: Kostyuk d. Noskova 7-6 (1), 6-0 at 2026 Madrid quarterfinals

Compared to the other semifinal, there isn't much history between Kostyuk and Noskova. Just one meeting separates the two, where Kostyuk prevailed en route to winning the Madrid title. 

Both players have shown consistency in different ways. For Kostyuk, she's carried the momentum from her clay-court success through Wimbledon, her lone grass tournament, and she has a chance in the second-straight Grand Slam to reach a Major final and be the first player from her country to reach a women's singles final at the tournament.

The Ukrainian has won 21 of her last 22 matches, and looked dominant, particularly on her down the line forehand, in her quarterfinal win over 2024 finalist Jasmine Paolini.

Noskova's success has come recently in the grass season, where she won her second WTA title in Berlin, a week before Wimbledon's beginning. She's now through to her first Grand Slam semifinal, and is entering the biggest match of her career. A win would put her into her into her eighth tour-level final on tour. 

She's been excellent with her aggressive style, and against Madison Keys and Elise Mertens -- both straight-sets wins in her past two rounds -- the Czech has notched 21 and 30 winners, respectively, against both. Noskova recently joined the top 10 after her win in Berlin, and she's played up to the standards with her form since. 

"I feel like I can use a lot of sides of my tennis," Noskova said on her comfortability on grass. "I can use a lot of drop shots, slices, approaches to the net, I can use my serve a lot. Just my game style helps me throughout all the tough times.

"I feel like I started to feel comfortable on grass last year. It was just me looking forward to the next year on the grass season. It's good that I'm looking forward for something, then you feel comfy on court."

More to come...