Linda Noskova: a bathroom break, then her first Grand Slam

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND. Linda Noskova, 21, won her first Grand Slam title Saturday, beating fellow Czech Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in the Wimbledon final. She'd led 5-2 in the second set and wasted five match points before Muchova pulled it back, so at the changeover Noskova took a bathroom break. She saw the trophies waiting and told herself, "I'm not going to take the small one. I'm taking the big one."

She won the third set to become the third Czech woman to take Wimbledon in four years, after Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova in 2024, and the youngest champion here since Petra Kvitova in 2011. Kate, the Princess of Wales, presented the Venus Rosewater Dish. Noskova's mother died two years ago, just before that year's tournament, and Martina Navratilova, watching from the stands, was moved by Noskova's tribute to her.