A Natural on Grass: Noskova Hits Her Stride at Wimbledon

She looks pretty savage, patrolling the grass, attacking the net, her nose ring punctuating the intensity of her gaze. At 21, Linda Noskova is still a relative newcomer to the tour, but already it feels as though she could become a fixture at Wimbledon—a player who regularly disrupts the draw and finds herself in the second week.

The nose ring is both a fashion statement and a lucky charm, one that helps the No.9 seed feel comfortable in her own skin.

“I feel like it’s bringing me some good luck,” she said on Monday after defeating Madison Keys in straight sets to reach her first Wimbledon quarterfinal. “Why not?”

With 17 wins in her last 21 grass-court matches, it’s clear that Noskova’s brand of tennis is tailor-made for the surface.

“She’s got a great serve. She comes forward really well. She’s very good at the net, and she has really good hands,” Keys said. “It’s just kind of one of those combinations where she’s constantly dictating, and you feel like she’s trying to take time away from you. Then she also has the variety. So she has a little bit of everything that makes her really dangerous, especially on this surface.”

That all-around skill set helped power Noskova to the Berlin title last month. She defeated Jessica Pegula to claim her first career grass-court title—it may well be the first of many.

This week, in a women’s draw without a former Wimbledon champion, at a tournament where each of the last eight women’s singles champions has been a first-time winner, Noskova has her eyes on the biggest prize.

“I feel like anybody can beat anybody,” she said. “It’s very open. It’s a Grand Slam. Everybody wants to have the best result in their career. Everybody wants to win it. It is very competitive.”

Asked why she’s playing so well, Noskova says she’s simply enjoying herself and embracing her aggressive identity. Last month at Roland Garros, where she lost in the first round, she explained how coach Tomas Krupa gives her the freedom to play the style of tennis she loves.

Noskova likes to hit big, move forward and rush her opponents into mistakes. She believed in that style from the very beginning, even when it didn’t produce immediate results.

“I have always been kind of aggressive,” she said. “When I was a kid, I made tons and tons of mistakes, thanks to my game style. But I feel like this has always been in my blood, and I’m glad I never really changed it as I grew up.”

It makes perfect sense that grass has become both her favorite and her best surface.

Now comes the opportunity.

As Wimbledon’s youngest quarterfinalist, Noskova has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

“I was looking forward to grass season,” she said. “I feel like last year it was the year that it actually clicked for me.

“I had a great start in Berlin. I feel like I kind of got into a momentum that I do not want to lose.”