THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 9, 2026

Karolina Muchova

Press Conference

K. MUCHOVA/C. Gauff

6-2, 1-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Karolina, extraordinary match. Really great performance. You're into the Wimbledon finals. How are you feeling right now?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: Thank you very much. Yeah, just still trying to soak it up kind of. It was unbelievable fight. I'm just trying to enjoy the moment.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. At eight points all in the tiebreak, you had a time violation against you and put a backhand long. Then we had the next point where Coco had a chance to maybe put a forehand away, and hit the net with a dropshot. In that period, what was going through your mind?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: I forgot about it. I forgot about the time violation. Yeah, I guess I was on the limit. I didn't see it that time, honestly. I didn't check the clock. Was just trying to take a little more time. Maybe didn't really do much to me, to be honest, yeah.

Q. First-ever match for you on Centre Court.

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: Yeah.

Q. What was the atmosphere like? How are you feeling physically after that battle with the heat, maybe some sort of ab issue you had also?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: Yeah, the court is unreal. I had a chance to actually warm up today on it, which I think was very helpful to kind of get used to the grounds and the roof and kind of just all surroundings.

It's a beautiful court. It was packed. It was such a great atmosphere. Yeah, it's a very nice experience to play on it - even better to get my first win there. It was very long, tough battle physically, mentally.

At the end, I had a stitch. I didn't have anything with my ab. I just couldn't catch my breath. I was just trying to massage it a little bit to get it away.

But yeah, it was pure fight.

Q. Do you have a theory as to why the Czech Republic produces so many good women's tennis players, yourself included?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: I don't have a theory (smiling).

Q. So many have done well at Wimbledon.

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: Yeah, yeah. No, we have great history of Czech tennis. Definitely the fact that there is so many of us. Myself, 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.

Yeah, it's nice that we're from such a small country and we have so many good players.

Q. This being your second Grand Slam final, it's always easier the second time, people say. Is there anything you did in the days before your first Grand Slam final that you won't do again or things that you'll do differently to maybe change the way you feel going into it?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: I'd have to remember what I did in Paris. It's been a while. It's been three years. I don't really know what I was doing in a day off.

But I will just try to do the same what I've been doing here these two weeks. Do the kind of same ritual, same stuff. Hit for 30 minutes tomorrow, try to keep it chill, recover as best as I can, then have that last match on Saturday.

Q. What rituals are there, if there are any? Any things you've been doing every day?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: Yeah, well, we go to tennis, hit 30 minutes, just a light hit to feel the balls and the court. Then I have a half day off. I go to have some good food. I go every day to the same coffee shop. Just like little things.

Q. In the tiebreak, especially at the end, you had so much success coming up to net. Coco did have that passing shot she got you on once. When you go back in to net two points later, is that trusting your game, or you know the patterns that work? You have such a lopsided head-to-head. How much do you have to trust yourself when maybe some shots aren't working or you've lost to her five times? Sorry, that was a bad question, but...

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: No, honestly during that tiebreak, it was like kind of roller coaster as well emotionally for me. One point I felt good, I hit a nice winner, and then I did like a terrible mistake.

In my head was just like I have to keep hitting. I was telling myself if I'm going to lose this, I want to lose on my own terms. My terms is going forward, playing aggressive, going to the net.

Even though Coco, she is incredible athlete and she always gives you that one point back, I would say, so even though I knew when I hit a volley that she is still going to be there and hit few unreal passing shots throughout the whole match, but it's kind of my game. I just wanted to stick to it.

Q. Do you have any recollection of the moment when she had that short ball and you were all the way in the back of the court on her match point? Did anything pass through your mind of, It's over?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: I thought I would get there, actually (smiling).

Q. When she hit the dropshot, did you think she was going to hit a dropshot?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: I think I would get to that dropshot. But in a few points before that when she hit a dropshot, I didn't get the shot back. Then she kind of won the rally. I was happy it didn't go over the net.

Q. In the bigger picture of your career, what does it mean to you to get back to the second Grand Slam final? And maybe a word on playing Linda.

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: It's a very special moment. It's a great achievement. This is one of the biggest tournaments that we have with all the, again, I'll repeat myself, history, so many legends were playing here, as well to just get to play on the Centre Court, it was so nice.

Yeah, just incredibly glad and happy that it happened and that I have a chance to play another final.

Q. And Linda just won.

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: Yeah, well, I don't have any thoughts about it. I just learned it now, so didn't really think of that.

Q. It was less than a year ago that you were coming back from the wrist injury, slicing mostly on the backhand. Through that process, when you were coming back from the wrist, did you always know you would get back to this point with your groundstrokes, or was there a time when you thought you might be a bit compromised and have to play differently?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: No, for me, last year it was either the pain is going to go away and I'll be able to play or I'll have a surgery. It was never, if I would still have that pain, I would never play that way, and just try to find a way, play with one-handers, didn't really go too well for me.

Luckily it happened that the pain went away. We did a lot of work on that. I was able to, and I am able to, play again fully.

Q. Did the pain go away?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: After Wimbledon last year (smiling).

Q. A question about Sven, because we tried to speak to him after the match, and he didn't want to talk. He said he wanted to leave it to you. How would you describe what he's brought to your game, in particular? What change has he made?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: I don't know if you've been here in all the interviews before, but I had this question every time. Maybe you can just look at two days ago what I was saying.

I would just honestly repeat myself: he brought a lot. I'm really happy to have him in my corner. He is a good guy. Yeah, I wish he talked to you so I don't have to answer all these questions about him every time.

So I think that's my answer to that.

Q. I'll tell him that.

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: Tell him (smiling).

Q. I know you like your padel. You have great hands in and around the net. Does it help with the tennis at all?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: That's I think tough to say. When we practice, sometimes I get some good volley, because I play padel with my team, with my physio and coaches, so when I hit some good volleys, we're like, That's from the padel. Who knows.

We definitely play a lot. It's fun.

Q. On the topic of repetitive questions, you play another Czech in the final. You're going to get asked, Linda is going to get asked, what is it about Czech tennis. What is your relationship to that sort of question, people being curious about Czech tennis all the time. None of the Czech players ever really seem to have any magic answer to it. What is your relationship to that question?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: To that question?

Q. Getting asked all the time about Czech women's tennis.

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: I'm honestly tired about it, because, as you said, I get this question every second day, I would say. Every time I think we all answered it or tried to answer it.

On one hand it's nice to get that question because it's so good for our country and for the sport in our country. We are such a small country. This is just unbelievable and all that.

But yeah, to get that question all the time, I try to answer every time differently. I don't know what to say anymore (smiling).

Q. Growing up, what surface did you think you'd have the most success on in your career?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: Never really thought about it, because when I was a kid, in Czech you play on the clay most of the time. Then once you get on the tour, get that ranking, you play most of the time on hard court.

I think on the grass I didn't play that many matches overall until this year, I would say. I'd say I'm pretty adaptive, that I can adapt to all the surfaces. I like them all because you can use all different type of game, weapons, spins on all the surfaces. I enjoy the changes.

I actually always look forward when we have the change and go from hard courts to clay, then grass, then back there.