It's been a coming-of-age season for 21-year-old Linda Noskova.
Challenging the WTA’s elite, she has shown maturity beyond her years, often showcasing impressive composure to secure crucial victories.
Most notably, she held her nerve in the Wimbledon final after relinquishing five championship points in the second set against compatriot Karolina Muchova, straightening in the third set to claim the Venus Rosewater Dish.
Adjusting to life as a Grand Slam champion was not easy for Noskova, who is experiencing the pressures of holding that title. She suffered early exits at the WTA 1000 tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati, slumping to a 2-2 record during the US Open lead-in events.
Despite these results, Noskova has turned over a new leaf in New York.
“Not even in Cincy or Toronto was easy for me,” she said. “I can always take some positives or some wisdom from the losses and the wins. But I feel like once the new Grand Slam started, I started all over as well, like the previous [losses] never happened.”
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Noskova’s resilience has carried into her two most recent matches at US Open 2026. Serving for the match in the second set against seeded opponents Ann Li and Marta Kostyuk, respectively, both threatened to come back defeat the Czech No.1.
However, Noskova ultimately worked her way to her third Grand Slam quarterfinal.
“I had to restart. I had to refocus, kind of put it behind me, which was not easy at all. Especially since Marta started very well in the third,” she said following Sunday’s 7-5 5-7 6-4 victory over Kostyuk.
“But it's always the most important thing to get yourself back mentally after such opportunities, either at Wimby or here.”
Noskova’s quarterfinal opponent, world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, will present a similar challenge to put away if she finds herself in the same position, given Sabalenka has won three matches this year after being a set down.
Their final-eight showdown, a battle between the reigning Wimbledon and US Open champions, marks the first time since Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka faced off in the 2013 final that two women's Grand Slam titleholders have collided at Flushing Meadows.
Noskova and Sabalenka’s two previous head-to-head matches have been pivotal to the growing profiles of both players.
The 2023 Adelaide International final was a milestone moment for Sabalenka. Twelve months after her infamous serving yips weighed her down, she triumphed, kickstarting a 55-win, three-title season and an ongoing period of dominance.
It also ignited a strong period for Noskova, who as a teenager reached her first tour-level final.
At the Indian Wells semifinals in March, Noskova fell victim to Sabalenka who was on a tear following her AO 2026 final defeat to Elena Rybakina. Sabalenka avenged that loss to Rybakina in the subsequent Indian Wells final.
However, no previous clash between Sabalenka and Noskova has had higher stakes than their upcoming US Open quarterfinal.
Three years since beginning her first reign atop the WTA rankings, Sabalenka is in jeopardy of losing the mantle. Although she has a strong record on paper in 2026, winning 44 of her 52 matches, her form suggests otherwise.
On record pace to begin the year, with a 26-1 record in the first three months, the 28-year-old is 18-7 since and has not reached a final since Miami in March.
With rivals Rybakina, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula zeroing in on her spot, winning silverware has never been more crucial for Sabalenka. Failure to defend the points from her 2025 New York triumph will snap her 99-week streak as world No.1 – the sixth-longest of all-time.
Despite the stakes, Sabalenka is not focusing on the vitality of a third-straight US Open trophy, something only Serena Williams has achieved at a major this century (US Open 2012-2014).
The top seed has won all four of her US Open matches in straight sets for the first time at a tournament since Roland Garros. With a clear mind, she believes the competing world No.1 scenarios are all white noise.
“I'm just focusing on myself. I'm just trying to bring my best tennis every time I'm competing out there and basically fight for it,” Sabalenka said.
“These scenarios, if one didn't work, then there is another one. There are always scenarios for something. There are always different statistics that social media brings, so I'm just completely trying to stay away from it."
For Noskova, victory would keep her in the hunt for back-to-back major titles, as well as a maiden top-five berth.
Sabalenka threatens to spoil Noskova’s chance of becoming the first back-to-back major champion since Naomi Osaka at Australian Open 2019.
Having defeated three top-10 opponents this year, Noskova expects her quarterfinal encounter to be a battle.
“Our two [matches] were very different. The last one in Indian Wells, it was a tough one, a close one, but she did well. She won the whole thing, just as she has been winning here for the last two years,” Noskova said.
“I know her game very well .. It's going to be some fast tennis.
“She's very consistent in whatever she does. It's either the serve or she's going into every return that she can, or playing so solid from the baseline and not being afraid to go on the net as well and using some dropshots or slices to mix up the rhythm.
“She's definitely one of the best players in the world for these reasons.”