Marta Kostyuk defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 on her Centre Court debut to reach her first Wimbledon semifinal. The Ukrainian advanced in dominant fashion against the Italian, who had reached the final at the two previous Grand Slams.

Linda Noskova also reached her first major semifinal by beating Elise Mertens in straight sets. The Czech had not previously progressed beyond the second round at Wimbledon.

Following her victory, Kostyuk publicly criticized the International Olympic Committee’s decision to provisionally lift its ban on Russia and recommend that individual sports remove the neutral status for Russian athletes, according to ESPN Tennis. The political context surrounding Russian and Belarusian participation in tennis has remained prominent throughout the season.

Kostyuk and Noskova will face each other for a place in the Wimbledon final. Both players are seeking their first Grand Slam final appearance.