Linda Noskova is winning the race clearly when it comes to inexperienced teenagers going the distance in the women’s singles draw at the Australian Open 2024. The unheralded Czechia youngster has now become a title favorite after Monday (Sunday early morning ET)’s result in the Round of 16. Noskova qualified for the quarterfinals after leading 3-0 in the first set as Elina Svitolina retired hurt due to a back injury. This has made the tennis world more curious about her, quite understandably so.
This has been a dream run for Linda Noskova. Noskova got past her more experienced compatriot from Czechia and the 31st seed, Marie Bouzkova in the very first round, that too in straight sets. But Noskova pulled off a stunning comeback against World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the third round for the biggest win of her career so far. She is ranked 50th in the world in women’s singles at the moment and in her country, was always touted to be a future superstar of the tennis.
Linda Noskova showed a lot of promise as a child prodigy of sorts, winning 6 singles titles and 1 women’s doubles title as a junior player before her professional WTA debut in 2022. Noskova made her Grand Slam debut at the French Open that year, just 12 months after winning the junior girls singles title at Roland Garros. Her move from the village of Trojanovice to the city of Prerov in 2018 did wonders for her in a span of just 4 years.
It has been slow going for Linda Noskova but the Australian Open 2024 is a breakthrough tournament for her. She has now completed participating at least once in each of the Grand Slams. Remarkably, Linda Noskova has not won a title in either singles or doubles on the WTA Tour yet, but has managed to rake in a little above $1 million USD in career prize money.
Her calm and Zen-like approach towards tennis and not showing her emotions might take her a long way in a sport which is otherwise so demanding on the mind and body. Noskova’s poker face was at show even when she was struggling at one point in her match against Iga Swiatek, who is herself known for her mental toughness. Noskova commented after the match in an interview with the WTA Tour –
“I don’t work on it at all, it’s just part of me. “I’m just really happy to be like that. Not really emotional even after wins or losses. That’s great.
“But sometimes people are like, ‘Does it mean anything to you?’
“I’m like, ‘Yeah, it does, but I’m just not showing it.'”
Linda Noskova to take on Dayana Yastremska in Australian Open quarterfinals
Linda Noskova will have the upcoming Ukrainian player, Dayana Yastremska as her quarterfinal opponent at the Australian Open 2024. The advantage Noskova is that she has booming, accurate serves to fire at her opponents and wins points of it often. She is also prolific at the net whether it comes to retrieving her opponent’s shots, volleying or smashing anything coming fast at her.
Noskova is expected to play on Wednesday morning (Tuesday night ET) against Yastremska in a match that could decide who could possibly go on to win the title. Yastremska too is in great touch and as the stakes go higher, Noskova will have to learn quickly on the job about overcoming new challenges in every Grand Slam round.
