Noskova/Bouzkova double down in Cincy

By Richard Osborn

Czech duo claims QTA 1000 crown in dominant fashion

There was some real Wimbledon pedigree on the court on Saturday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, where Linda Noskova and Marie Bouzkova faced off against Magali Kempen and Alexandra Panova in the 2026 Cincinnati Open women’s doubles final.

Noskova, of course, was fresh off her maiden major singles title on the lawns of the All England Club. Her compatriot/teammate Bouzkova has reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in singles, and the semifinals in doubles. Playing just their third tournament together, the all-Czech tandem would claim the title in dominant fashion, defeating Kempen and Panova, 6-1, 6-2, in just one hour.

Noskova/Bouzkova set the tone early on, breaking for 3-1 in the opener. They would open the second set with another, distancing themselves for good.

It’s yet another sparkling achievement for Czech tennis, which currently boasts 10 players in the PIF WTA Singles Rankings, two of whom are in the Top 10 (Noskova and Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova.)

What’s in the water over there anyway?

“Especially for a woman, it’s the biggest Czech sport. It gets a lot of attention,” said Bouzkova, 28. “I feel like every little girl wants to try to play tennis. Maybe that’s what it is, that so many girls are trying. The healthy competition between one another is probably a factor also.”

Noskova clutched the silvery Venus Rosewater Dish last month in SW19, but the 21-year-old baseliner is smitten with the Rookwood Cup, too.

“It’s gorgeous,” she exclaimed. “I feel like it’s one of the most prized trophies there is. The size and the colors are so beautiful.”

“You always see these iconic pictures from whoever wins Cincy. Now we get to own one,” added Bouzkova. “It’s pretty special.

As for what makes their partnership work so well, Bouzkova said: “I think we kind of split a lot of areas of the game between each other. Linda, with all the power she has, has been improving so much on the volley every day. It was great to see that. I just try to cover whatever I can cover and also be active. I felt like we just found a good balance.”

Playing their sixth event together, Kempen and Panova called their run to the title match the stuff of dreams, even if it ended in defeat. Panova, 37, insisted it was never really about the trophy anyway: “It’s about enjoying it every day. Titles are just the prize for the work you have put in, but you’ve got to enjoy the process, how you’re getting there. It took us seven, eight months to get here. And the prize money for the other weeks was not even covering the cost. It’s just a reward for the job you’ve been doing all the way up to here.”