Wimbledon 2026: Coco Gauff loses in tense third-set tiebreak to Karolína Muchová in semifinals

Gauff appeared off her game early. While she took the first game, Gauff dropped the second and was broken by Muchová in the third. Gauff looked to be in a better spot in the fourth game, but lost four straight points to give Muchová an early 3-1 lead. Missed shots affected Gauff in the next game, which Muchová won quickly.

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The sixth game of the first set looked like it could be the start of a turnaround for Gauff, who won the first three points to go up 40-0. But Gauff couldn’t close it out. Muchová won the next five points, winning the game to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Gauff once again had trouble closing out the next game. Despite reaching game point first, Gauff again allowed Muchová to claw her way back. This time around, though, Gauff showed resilience, finally holding off a Muchova comeback to make it 5-2 .

But Gauff’s rally couldn’t last. Muchová was able to close out the set in the next game, winning 6-2. Gauff’s 12 unforced errors played a decent role in her giving up the set. But if there was reason for hope, Muchová struggled to get her first serve in. If Gauff could play a cleaner match going forward, it was possible she could turn things around.

Right off the bat, Gauff looked improved to start the second set. She notched two aces during the first game, taking an early 1-0 lead. They were her first aces of the day. Muchová managed to take the next game, but not after a late rally from Gauff. Though the set was tied, Gauff was already looking much better compared to her first set performance.

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She capitalized on that in the next game, preventing Muchová from taking a single point. Gauff jumped out to an early lead in the next game, taking a 40-0 lead. But break point proved to once again be difficult for Gauff, who dropped the next two points to go 0-for-8 on her break-point attempts. But her struggles ended there, as Gauff finally came through, taking a 3-1 lead in the set.

That seemed to turn things around for Gauff, who took the next two games to go up 5-1. Her first-set struggles seemed to be fully behind her now, giving Gauff momentum with the final set on the horizon. A quick win in the next game gave Gauff the set. She appeared to be fully in control now.

That momentum was halted somewhat at the start of the final set. Gauff didn’t score a point in the first game and then nearly allowed Muchová to come all the way back in the second game before evening things 1-1. After Muchova easily took the third game, Gauff was nearly broken in the fourth before recovering in time to win it.

The pair traded the next four games, keeping the final set tied 4-4. The ninth game gave Gauff a chance to pull ahead, and while she came close, she couldn’t break Muchová. With the win, Muchová sat a game away from the match victory. Gauff took the serve looking to keep things tied up. Gauff held serve and it certainly looked like the first player to break her opponent would win the match.

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That didn’t happen in the 11th game. Muchova stayed ahead 6-5, sending the serve back to Gauff. But the American held serve, sending the match to a tiebreak. If there was any hope for Gauff, Muchová was spotted holding her side and stretching in the final set, a sign fatigue was starting to set in.

That didn’t appear to be the case early in the tiebreak, as Muchová jumped out to a 4-1 start. With her back against the wall, Gauff bounced back to cut the deficit to 4-3. After going up 6-3, Muchová appeared in control. Gauff again cut into the lead, making it 6-5 and setting up Muchová to potentially win the tiebreak with her next serve.

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But Gauff rallied again, pushing it to 6-6 in the tiebreak. At this point, both players refused to give in. Despite each player being at match point multiple times, the tiebreak extended to 10-10.

Muchová took the 11-10 lead before turning it back over to Gauff for two serves. Finally, Muchová ended it, winning the tiebreak 12-10 and taking the set, and the match.

With the win, Muchová heads to her first Grand Slam final. While she’s appeared in the semifinals at major events three times prior to Thursday, she had never advanced past the round. Because of that, Muchová will play for her first Grand Slam title Saturday.

She’ll take on a familiar opponent in Nosková in the final. The pair have met three times over their careers, with Muchová winning two of those contests.

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Following her straight-set win over Kostyuk on Thursday, Nosková is also seeking her first-ever Grand Slam title. Over her career, Nosková had reached just one quarterfinal at a Grand Slam. She’s already exceeded that result at Wimbledon in 2026.

Gauff will leave the match disappointed. This was her best performance at Wimbledon, where she’s struggled over her career. She came exceptionally close to toppling Muchová and reaching the final, but couldn’t finish the job. With Gauff out, she’ll have to take solace in seemingly figuring out how to excel on grass. If she truly unlocked the key to winning at Wimbledon, Gauff could go on a similar run next year.

Coming into Thursday, Gauff held a significant advantage over Muchová. The American was 6-1 in their seven career singles meetings. But there was one troubling sign for Gauff, the last time the two met — at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in April — Muchová picked up her first win over Gauff.

Though Gauff pushed Muchová to her limit, that trend continued Thursday. After overcoming Gauff, Muchová is now set up to cross off her next task, beating Nosková on Saturday.