WIMBLEDON, England — There was a collective sigh from those gathered on Center Court Thursday as Coco Gauff appeared to be just seconds away from reaching her first Wimbledon final.
With a 9-8 tiebreaker lead in the deciding set of her semifinal match against 10th-seeded Karolina Muchova, No. 7-seeded Gauff stepped up to the net to hit a routine forehand. There was almost silence as she raised her racquet – the crowd seemed ready to roar – and then she hit the ball straight into the net.
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A groan filled the air.
The match was not over. At least not yet. But only a few minutes passed when Muchova fought off a very tense battle of nerves to win 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10) in two hours and 35 minutes. They hugged at the gate, both looking stunned by what had just happened.
Gauff then quickly gathered her racquets and headed for the exit, long before the crowd had even had a chance to sit down. Although 2026 was her most successful Wimbledon performance to date and she showed significant signs of improvement on grass throughout the tournament, Gauff admitted she will be reliving the possibility of match point for a while – and wondering what could have been. But as she said repeatedly Thursday night, it could have gone either way.
“People who don’t watch tennis will say, ‘Why did you do that?’ But in the end, this is the choice I made. Was he right at that moment? Perhaps not,” Gauff told reporters. “But on the other hand, if I do it, everyone will say what a good shot it was.
“I think it’s just tennis. You lose a few points on the margin. To be honest, the return was a tough moment for me. The rebound took me by surprise. I just panicked a little. I think moments like that are to learn from and have a clearer, more concise plan for what I want to do. In the end, I left it all there.”
So what exactly went wrong with Gauff in Thursday’s thriller? Let’s figure it out.
Although Coco Gauff lost on Thursday, she achieved more at Wimbledon than ever before. Previously, she only reached the fourth round. Visionhaus/Getty Images
She had a rough start
Until this year, Gauff, 22, had never advanced beyond the fourth round at the All England Club, and she had not won a match on grass in two years entering this year’s tournament. Despite her past history, something seemed to click in her over those two weeks and she became more confident with each match she played.
With temperatures rising into the mid-90s under the blazing midday sun, Gauff looked nervous from the start. In the first set, she broke in just her second service game and never recovered. Her forehand, which has been a source of concern throughout her career, was particularly troublesome as she recorded just two winners compared to seven unforced errors.
Although Gauff tried her best to stay positive and her game box was still standing and cheering for her even in the points she lost, she simply didn’t have many answers in the first set. It was all over after 38 minutes and she left the court during a break to regroup.
While she certainly raised her level after the first set and found a way to keep it competitive for the rest of the match, the early deficit forced her to be in defensive mode for much of the day.
Twenty-four of Gauff’s 43 matches this season have ended in three sets. Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Constant resistance has paid off
While Gauff has impressed throughout her run, little has been easy. Thursday marked her fifth straight three-set match at the tournament and the third straight match in which she dropped the first set. She became the fourth woman in the Open Era to play five major matches in a row to reach a decider, and the third at Wimbledon.
She had to fight—and struggle—for every victory. And while it’s become something of an attractive trademark for her – 24 of her 43 matches this season have ended in three – it’s hard to sustain.
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Gauff returned from the set break with a more aggressive style and dominated an equally lopsided second set. Like Muchova in the opening, Gauff broke Muchova in the third game of the set and then rolled. With the crowd on her side, she won the next three games and suddenly everything was back on track.
It seemed then that she would do what she did against No. 11 Belinda Bencic in the fourth round and No. 4 Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals and maintain control in the deciding set.
But Muchov had other ideas. These two exchanges on serve – and rallies – highlight the incredible agility and athleticism they both possess. This kept the crowd glued to every point. In the end, it all came down to a 10-point tiebreaker. Gauff played the first deciding tiebreaker of her career just last week in the second round and appeared energized to achieve the same result.
And even when she was down 4-1, Gauff managed to stay in the fight, attacking Muchova’s backhand and landing forehand winners. When suddenly the score was 6-6, it looked like Gauff was ready to put it away, but she just couldn’t close it out. She had a chance – although Muchova later said she was convinced she would have reached the drop shot had it been successful – and even won another point after her unsuccessful match point. But it was Muchova who won the game with her second match point attempt after hitting the corner and hitting Gauff’s forehand into the net.
Muchova said she simply stuck to her game plan in the tiebreaker, even when Gauff made things difficult.
“In my head, (I) felt like I needed to keep hitting,” Muchova said. “I told myself that if I lose, I want to lose on my terms. My terms (mean) go forward, play aggressively, go to the net.”
“Even though Coco is an incredible athlete and I would say she always gets that one point back for you, so even though I knew when I hit the volley she would still be there and hit some unreal passing shots throughout the match, but that’s kind of my game. I just wanted to stick with it.”
Karolina Muchova will now play in her second major final on Saturday. Ray Tang/Anadolu via Getty Images
Muchova was ready
A French Open finalist in 2023 and widely considered one of the best in the sport when healthy, Muchova, 29, was always going to be a difficult opponent, even if their head-to-head careers suggested otherwise. After the match, even Gauff said that Muchova “deserves more success (than she had) because of how talented she is.”
Gauff added that she was “honored” to lose the match to an opponent she respects so much, before backing down a bit.
“It’s just one of those battles that I’m honored—not honored, I don’t want to say I’m honored to lose. I don’t know. This is a match that I will remember for the rest of my career. It sucks to be the loser, but even as I walked off the court I thought, “That was a lot of fun.”
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Gauff had beaten Muchova in six of their previous seven meetings, including in the semifinals of the 2023 US Open. With two major titles under her belt and significant experience on center court, Gauff might have had the edge, but Muchawa, who had never played on the court before, came out prepared and ready from the start.
It was a sensational grass season for Muchova. She won her surface title in Bad Homburg last month and brought a nine-match winning streak – the longest of her career – into Thursday’s competition. She had dropped just one set prior to the semifinals and had largely dominated her matches, including wins over 2024 champion Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round and four-time major champion Naomi Osaka in the quarterfinals.
Muchova and Gauff had never played on grass before, and Muchova also considered this an advantage. “I’m glad it’s 0-0 on the grass,” Muchova said Tuesday. “It’s a little better balance for me.”
And even Gauff knew that their confrontation meant little to participate in the match.
“(She’s) not an opponent you want to face at any stage of the tournament,” Gauff said.
Gauff will use this experience
While Muchova is now preparing for her first Wimbledon final against Czech tennis player Linda Noskova, Gauff will head home to Florida to prepare for the hard-court season. Despite the heartbreaking defeat, Gauff was extremely positive after the match – smiling as she walked into the press conference and even joking during the match – and said she wouldn’t dwell on it for long.
“I’ll think about it tonight,” Gauff said. “Yeah, I don’t know if I’ve ever lost a match after getting match point. If so, I don’t remember the last time. I don’t know how long it will take me (to get over this). I don’t think it’s that long, honestly. I think so, right after I had a lot of emotions right after the match. But now I’m just in one decision, and maybe I’m sitting at this press conference in a different mood.”
In fact, Gauff said she might even watch Saturday’s championship game and be happy to see who wins. And, she added, she knew coming so close to Wimbledon, a tournament she has competed in in the past, would only help her in the long run.
“I mean, I look at Roger (Federer), (he) lost match points here, Yannick (Sinner) obviously at Roland Garros. Every great champion has had this happen in their career. Maybe this is what I need to be on their level.”