Clare Balding was not convinced by Linda Noskova’s superstition (Image: BBC)
BBC presenter Clare Balding was far from convinced by one superstition that helped Linda Noskova reach the Wimbledon final for the first time. The Czech star revealed she starts each day with an oat matcha drink, with Balding declaring she’s not a fan.
Canadian former tennis player Eugenie Bouchard, working as a pundit for the broadcaster, told her colleague that she’d have to accept it given the results it had helped provide. Noskova defeated Marta Kosyuk in straight sets to secure a place against Karolina Muchova in Saturday’s showpiece event.
“Noskova was saying she’s going to stick to her routine, which she revealed the other day that she starts every day with an oat matcha. I’m not sure, but it works for her,” said Balding following Noskova’s win.
Eugenie Bouchard, a former finalist here herself, pushed back and said: “Hey, look, she’s in the final of Wimbledon,” before Balding replied: “I know!”
“We’re going to accept whatever her routine is,” Bouchard insisted.
But, Balding had the final say: “Oat matcha sales are going to go through the roof, but I’ve tried matcha, and I’m not a fan, I’ve got to be honest, I’m not a fan.”
Noskova had revealed she has numerous superstitions that she must abide by following her successful week. “I have so many superstitions, I can’t even start to name them,” she said.
“It’s like 20-30 things a day – I feel like it is an illness at this point! I’m using all same routines in the morning, pretty much same lunch, using same bathroom, same sink, so I’m not going to change anything.”
Following Noskova’s talk of superstition, interviewer Annabel Croft offered some insight from her own career when she moved to the commentary box for the mixed doubles final. The ex-tennis star, 59, admitted that winning can make you obsessed with how you prepare.
“You get obsessed and you have to watch the same outfit and keep wearing the same outfit,” she said, “And actually the worst one is trying to get on the court to the change of ends chair, to the one that you want first. You want to beat your opponent to the chair. Motoring to get there first.”
Noskova celebrated going through to her first Grand Slam final (Image: Getty)
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Noskova, 21, booked her second match on Centre Court with a 6-4, 6-4 win in one hour and 19 minutes. She will play in an all-Czech final against Muchova, with two players from the same country contesting the match for the first time since 2009, when Serena Williams beat her sister Venus.
“Karolina is such a great fighter, such an incredible player, but mainly she is such a great person. I’m glad I can play my first final against her,” Noskova said.
“For me, (the plan) is always just to focus on myself and to focus on my game,” she continued. “When I play my best, I know that I can play with the best players in the world and have a great result, which is a final at a Grand Slam, I guess.”