The bizarre superstitions behind all-Czech Wimbledon final between Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova - 'It's an illness at this point'
Updated 10/07/2026 at 00:20 GMT+1
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It will be an all-Czech Wimbledon women's singles final between Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova - but what are some of the superstitions providing the backstory to their showdown on Saturday at the All England Club?
Highlights: Muchova and Noskova reach Wimbledon final
Video credit: SNTV
It was a momentous day for Czech tennis in SW19 on Thursday, with Muchova staving off a dramatic match point to beat Coco Gauff and make her maiden Wimbledon final - before Noskova made her first Grand Slam final by seeing off Marta Kostyuk.
It promises to be a fascinating match-up between two players who have defeated some of the game's biggest names on their way to Saturday's final.
As well as Gauff, Muchova downed former champion Barbora Krejcikova in the last 16, before overcoming Naomi Osaka in the quarter-finals.
Noskova has also been on an impressive run, only losing two sets in the entire tournament so far.
It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that there lies a precise routine behind her success.
Quizzed on this by Annabel Croft in her post-match on-court interview, Noskova revealed some curious superstitions.
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Annabel Croft: How will you prepare for it, do you have any superstitions, any special meals ahead of the match and will you sleep well?
Linda Noskova: I sleep well all the time so I hope this will be no change. I have so many superstitions, I cannot even start to name them.
AC: No, tell us.
LN: You don't want to know. It's like 20, 30 things in a day, I feel like it's an illness at this point.
AC: Lines, walking on the lines?
LN: I'm using all the same routines in the morning, I'm having almost the same lunch, I'm using the same bathroom, the same sink, the same everything, so I'm not going to change anything.
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As it turns out - and as she revealed in her post-match press conference - Muchova said that she too will be sticking to the same "ritual" she has kept for the last two weeks.
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"I will just try to do the same what I've been doing here these two weeks," she said.
"Do the kind of same ritual, same stuff. Hit for 30 minutes tomorrow, try to keep it chill, recover as best as I can, then have that last match on Saturday."
On how she has mapped out her remaining two days in south-west London, she added: "Just a light hit to feel the balls and the court. Then I have a half day off.
"I go to have some good food. I go every day to the same coffee shop. Just like little things."
Noskova and Muchova teamed up in the women's doubles at the 2024 Paris Olympics, losing in the bronze-medal match.
But this will be only their second career meeting, with Muchova winning the first at the 2025 US Open.
Before Saturday's women's singles showdown, Friday sees the men's semi-finals at SW19, with British wildcard Arthur Fery taking on Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner facing a mouthwatering clash with Novak Djokovic.
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