Karolina Muchova ends Naomi Osaka's Wimbledon run to reach maiden semi-final

By SABC Sport
7th July 2026

Karolina Muchova continued her impressive grass-court surge by defeating Naomi Osaka for the second time in just over a week, securing a place in her first Wimbledon semi-final with a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory on Tuesday.

The Czech tenth seed produced a composed performance on Court One to overcome the four-time Grand Slam champion in a contest decided by consistency and variety. Muchova committed 21 unforced errors compared with Osaka's 42, while both players struck 24 winners during an absorbing encounter.

The victory also saw Muchova achieve a significant career milestone, becoming the eighth active women's player to reach the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments. She is only the fourth Czech player in the Open Era to accomplish the feat, joining Hana Mandlikova, Jana Novotna and Karolina Pliskova.

Muchova entered the match with confidence after beating Osaka in the Bad Homburg final last week, although that victory came after the Japanese star retired due to a foot injury. This time, the Czech earned the win outright, becoming the first player to defeat Osaka in a Grand Slam quarter-final.

"I was very nervous," Muchova admitted after the match. "She's unbelievable. We've played so many times. We played a week ago in a tournament against each other, so I think we know each other pretty well at this point.

"You can't lose that focus. You have to keep going and play every point, because if you give her a chance, she takes it."

Osaka arrived in the quarter-final as the only player remaining in either singles draw who had not dropped a set, having produced a stunning upset of world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the previous round.

However, the Japanese star struggled to maintain that level against Muchova, being broken twice in the opening set after conceding only two breaks across her first four matches. Osaka finished with four double faults and 32 unforced errors, both tournament highs for her.

Muchova edged the opening set after claiming the tie-break with a forehand winner and continued to apply pressure in the second. Osaka's mistakes proved costly in the ninth game when she served two double faults and missed a drive volley, allowing Muchova to break before serving out the match with an ace.

The 29-year-old has now won nine consecutive matches on grass, extending a run that began with her Bad Homburg title triumph. The streak follows another strong spell earlier this year, when she captured the Doha title and reached the latter stages of Indian Wells.

For Osaka, the defeat ended a remarkable Grand Slam quarter-final record. She fell to 5-1 at this stage of major tournaments after previously winning her first five quarter-finals.

Muchova, the 2023 French Open runner-up, will now face seventh seed Coco Gauff in Thursday's semi-final as she continues her pursuit of a first Grand Slam title.

Gauff leads their head-to-head record 6-1, but Muchova won their most recent meeting in Stuttgart earlier this season, giving the Czech confidence heading into their latest showdown.