From Martina to Muchova: All-Czech final at Wimbledon continues the country's tennis legacy

LONDON (AP) — Linda Noskova didn't pay much attention to tennis as a kid until she watched Czech compatriot Petra Kvitova win the Wimbledon final in 2011.

“That is maybe one of the first moments when I realized that such a sport as tennis exists,” the 21-year-old Noskova said after playing on Centre Court at the All England Club for the first time on Thursday.

More Czech kids will surely be watching on Saturday when the country is guaranteed to add another champion to its rich legacy at Wimbledon.

Noskova beat Marta Kostyuk in straight sets to set up an all-Czech women's final against Karolina Muchova, who earlier outlasted Coco Gauff in a dramatic third-set tiebreaker.

It means there will be a third Czech female champion at the All England Club in four years, after Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova in 2024.

“It’s a tradition at this point,” Noskova said.

The country's lineage goes back much further, of course. When Krejcikova won her title, she thanked 1998 Wimbledon winner Jana Novotna for having pushed her into professional tennis.

And Novotna, like all the Czech players after her, was inspired by the greatest Wimbledon champion of all — Martina Navratilova, who won a record nine singles titles at the All England Club.

“We have a great history of Czech tennis,” Muchova said. “When I was younger, looking up to the girls who were like maybe five years older than I was, you can just see them doing so well. So it gave me the belief that I can as well do it. That’s how it worked for me.”

Navratilova was at Centre Court on Thursday as well, doing TV commentary for the BBC. She is likely to watch Saturday's final from the Royal Box, where she is a regular visitor.

“I can relax and just enjoy, because we're going to have another Czech winner,” Navratilova said. “Czech women are certainly pulling their weight at Wimbledon, I tell you. This is crazy good.”

The semifinal matches marked the first time playing on Centre Court for both Muchova and Noskova. They came to the venue together earlier to warm up and just get used to the grandeur of it all.

The two are good friends, having played doubles together at the Paris Olympics in 2024, but will have to put that aside on Saturday.

It will be the ninth-ranked Muchova’s second Grand Slam final after losing to Iga Swiatek in the 2023 French Open championship match.

The 21-year-old Noskova had never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon, having come that far last year, and her best Grand Slam result was reaching the quarterfinals at the 2024 Australian Open.

Asked to explain the continued Czech excellence at Wimbledon, Noskova had a few theories.

“We are very creative,” she said, “so grass allows us to kind of use any side of tennis. If it’s serve and volley back in the old days, if it’s slices and volleys in this new era. I would say that we have all these sides that we can use, that grass allows us, and it’s showing.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Linda Noskova of Czech Republic, celebrates after defeating Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in their women's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Maja Smiejkowska)

Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic drops her racket as she reacts to winning against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in their semifinal women's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic celebrates her victory against Coco Gauff of the United States, background, in their semifinal women's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic celebrates her victory against Coco Gauff of the United States, background, in their semifinal women's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic celebrates her victory against Coco Gauff of the United States in their semifinal women's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Democrats in Maine began jockeying Thursday to become the new candidate for a pivotal U.S. Senate seat after progressive nominee Graham Platner announced he will withdraw from the race after a sexual assault allegation.

Democrats need to pick a candidate to replace Platner on the ballot by July 27, according to state law. Whoever is selected will have less than four months before facing longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the general election. Potential candidates had already been teasing their interest before Platner, who denies the allegation, announced he intends to drop out. But a growing number began formally launching their campaigns Thursday.

The Maine Democratic Party has said it will hold a nominating convention to choose the replacement. The party says the convention will involve hundreds of delegates from across the state, but how and when that’ll take place remains unknown.

Maine is considered a key state for control of the narrowly divided Senate, and Democrats are desperate for a candidate capable of defeating Collins while President Donald Trump is broadly unpopular.

These are some of the people who have shown interest in the Maine Senate race:

Jackson is Maine’s former state Senate president. He unsuccessfully ran to be the Democratic nominee for governor earlier this year with the backing of Platner and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. Shortly after Platner said he would quit the Senate race, Jackson launched his campaign, arguing that Mainers want “a progressive fighter." Our Revolution, the organization founded by Sanders, has since said it would back Jackson, 58.

Jackson released a statement with dozens of endorsements, many from current and former state and local officials, on Thursday.

Shah, former director of Maine’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, announced Thursday he was vying to be the next Democratic Senate candidate. He came in second in this year’s Maine Democratic governor's primary and was seen as more of a moderate candidate compared with Jackson while running for governor. "To the movement that supported Graham Platner, my message is this: you have a place in this campaign," Shah, 49, said in a statement.

The co-founder of Maine Beer Company, Kleban also confirmed his candidacy on Wednesday after Platner's announcement. Kleban briefly entered the Senate race last year before dropping out when Gov. Janet Mills announced her candidacy. Kleban, 49, endorsed Mills, who later dropped out of the Democratic primary.

“I'm ready to fight for Mainers and bring a new generation of leadership to Washington,” Kleban said.

Bellows is Maine's secretary of state. She announced Thursday that she's running for the seat, saying she's spent her career “taking on tough fights and doing the right thing," where she's served as a former civil liberties advocate and sparred with President-elect Donald Trump over ballot access.

This wouldn't be her first time running for political office. Bellows, 51, placed fourth in the state’s Democratic governor's primary in June. And in 2014, Bellows ran against Collins as the Senate Democratic nominee and lost in a landslide.

Wood, 36, initially attempted to run in the Maine Democratic Senate primary last year but dropped out to run in the state's 2nd District. He lost that race, coming in third to state Auditor Matt Dunlap. He's since said he's interested in running for the Senate again, and announced on Thursday.

“To beat Susan Collins, we need a candidate who can provide a true contrast and run an unapologetically progressive campaign: Passing Medicare for All. Stopping ICE terrorizing our streets,” Wood wrote on social media on Tuesday.

Loud filed paperwork to run for the Senate seat earlier this week. The 29-year-old social worker also ran in the state's 2nd District Democratic primary, but came in last during the state's first round of ranked choice voting.

Geiger, a previous Platner supporter and a state Democratic lawmaker, is another potential candidate. She hasn't announced her candidacy, but in an interview with MS NOW on Wednesday, Geiger, 70, said she would hire Platner's staff, whom she described as “deeply impassioned and confident young people.”

Kruesi reported from Providence, R.I.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

The headquarters for former Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Graham Platner is quiet Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Ellsworth, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

In this combination of photos taken in Augusta, Maine news conferences, Nirav Shah, left, speaks April 28, 2020, and Troy Jackson speaks, Jan. 17, 2023. (AP Photos/Robert F. Bukaty)

FILE - Voter cast their Maine primary ballots at the Civic Center, June 9, 2026, in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

FILE - Dan Kleban, a co-owner of the Maine Beer Company, poses in the company's tasting room in Freeport, Maine, May 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

FILE - Senate President Troy Jackson speaks at a news conference, Jan. 17, 2023, in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

FILE - Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows speaks at a news conference, Oct. 6, 2025 at the Maine State House in Augusta. (AP Photo/Patrick Whittle, File)

FILE - Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks at a news conference, April 28, 2020, in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)