Wimbledon 2026 results: Marta Kostyuk beats Jasmine Paolini to storm into semi-finals against Linda Noskova

Marta Kostyuk stormed into the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time with a superb victory over Jasmine Paolini on a scorchingly hot Centre Court.

Ukraine’s Kostyuk had not won a match on grass since reaching the third round at Wimbledon two years ago but produced a statement performance to overpower Paolini 6-3 6-2.

The 24-year-old, into her second major semi-final after reaching the last four at this year’s French Open, impressed with her variety and devastating precision in a 69-minute win.

Kostyuk will face ninth seed Linda Noskova in the last four after the Czech pushed past Belgium’s Elise Mertens shortly afterwards on Court One.

Wimbledon had been the only Grand Slam where Kostyuk had not reached the fourth round and she had never contested a WT Tour-level quarter-final on grass.

However, there was no evidence of those previous shortcomings on the surface here despite the draining mid-afternoon heat.

Kostyuk probed from the start and rarely relented after forcing the breakthrough in the fifth game of the match.

She maintained a remarkable level, ending the contest having won 90% of points behind her first serve while landing 19 winners against an opponent who had beaten her in their past two meetings.

Winning 11 of the last 14 games to complete victory, she celebrated with a pirouette after dazzling Wimbledon’s main stage to confirm her once unlikely title-winning credentials.