WIMBLEDON — The quarter-finalists in the bottom half of the Wimbledon 2026 draw will get their turn to book their places in the final four of the All England Club on Wednesday.
No. 12 seed Marta Kostyuk will face the 2024 finalist, while No. 13 seed Jasmine Paolini will start on Center Court, while No. 9 seed Linda Noskova and No. 21 seed Elise Mertens will compete for their first Wimbledon semifinal.
Here’s everything you need to know about Wednesday’s quarterfinals:
Order of play: July 7.
Center court
13:30: (12) Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine) vs. (13) Jasmine Paolini (Italy)
Next up: men’s singles.
Court No. 1
13:00: (9) Linda Noskova (Czech Republic) vs. (21) Elise Mertens (Belgium)
Next up: men’s singles.
Preview of Kostyuk vs. Paolini
Face to face: Paolini leads 2-1
Last meeting: Paolini d. Kostyuk 6-2, 6-1 in the second round of the 2023 World Cup in Cincinnati
Kostyuk continued her form from clay to Wimbledon, her grass-court tournament this year, and won 20 of her last 21 matches. The Ukrainian reaches her second Grand Slam quarterfinal this season and the third in her career.
She has had some tough three-set battles at the All England Club so far but managed to defeat qualifier Ashlyn Kruger, who was entering an 11-match winning streak, in the fourth round in straight sets. In just one tournament on grass this year, Kostyuk has found the basis for her best result at Wimbledon. She hasn’t played Paolini in almost three years and this will be their first match on grass.
“I think I’m adapting very well,” Kostyuk said as he adjusted to the grass. “When I need to, I read well, when I overdo it or underdo it. I feel like today (against Kruger) you could clearly see how I was trying to change the tempo, I wasn’t trying to overplay and give her more balls. I think just giving yourself that freedom to try different things definitely helps.”
For Paolini, her return to the Wimbledon quarterfinals is the result she has been waiting for all season. The Italian admits it hasn’t been her best season up to this point, with some nagging injuries contributing to those results, but she has made it to the final eight of a Grand Slam for the first time in two seasons.
Paolini’s emotions could be felt during her on-court interview following her third-round win over Maria Sakkari, and on Monday she avenged Dubai’s loss to Alexandra Ila with a three-set win on the iconic Center Court.
“This year was a little difficult because maybe I had – I don’t know – too many expectations, or I lost two matches that I didn’t expect to lose, then I had some doubts,” Paolini told the press on Monday. “Hopefully I can get back into the top 10. I want to do this. I hope I can do it.”
Now I’m focused, of course, on the tournament. I need to focus on the tournament because we are playing at Wimbledon. At the same time, I’m doing everything I can to maintain the level and maintain this attitude. This is the right approach to tennis.”
Noskova – Mertens, preview
Face to face: First meeting
Noskova joins Czech Karolina Muchova as her country’s two representatives to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals, most recently in 2021. Noskova is having as good a grass season as anyone on tour this season with a title in Berlin and now reaches her second Grand Slam quarter-final since the 2024 Australian Open.
She was on the verge of elimination in the third round against Sorana Cirstea, but advanced to a super tiebreaker 11-9 and then defeated Madison Keys in the fourth round. At just 21, Noskova could become London’s youngest semi-finalist since Jelena Ostapenko in 2018.
“I think at some point or at some stage you really need to believe in yourself that you can do it, that you can play against these big players and win these matches, or be in difficult moments and win these moments,” Noskova told the press on Monday about reaching the quarterfinals. “Confidence has to come from somewhere.
“As I always like to say, I don’t focus on results, rankings or achievements. I always try to have a good time on the court. I always want to improve as a player. This is where it got me. It was never really my goal to win this or win that.”
As for Mertens, she has reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the fourth time in her career and confidently reaches the second week, having previously reached the 1/8 finals at majors 17 times. Her biggest win of the tournament was against 2022 champion and No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina, who struggled to counteract the rhythm and pace that Mertens was holding her back.
With the win over Noskova, Mertens will reach her second Grand Slam singles semi-final, the first coming more than eight years ago at the 2018 Australian Open. The Belgian is also one of the most successful doubles players in the world, with six Grand Slam titles to her name, including two at Wimbledon, and Mertens said that experience had helped her get through the second week.
“Of course the quarter-finals were a dream,” Mertens told the press on Monday. “Not everyone plays quarterfinals. I think it’s definitely been a while.
“I thought maybe this was my chance. Who knows, my last chance. Maybe not, maybe yes. But I’m over 30 now. To ultimately achieve this, to play in the quarter-finals, is something amazing. I think I really had to believe in myself to do it today.”