Coco Gauff is the only Wimbledon women's semi-finalist to have won a Grand Slam singles title
Coco Gauff has openly acknowledged that she has never had the "best relationship" with grass courts.
Marta Kostyuk, another Wimbledon semi-finalist, described her connection with the surface as "complicated."
The Czech players Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova, who are the respective opponents of American two-time major champion Gauff and Ukraine's Kostyuk in Thursday's semi-final matches, have also faced difficulties adapting to grass.
However, all four semi-finalists at SW19 have found their form this fortnight, ensuring that a first-time Wimbledon women's champion will be crowned on Saturday.
"Coco is the only one who has won a major - but I'm not committing to saying she's the favourite," said American former world number one Tracy Austin.
"It will interesting to see how all four manage this with so much on the line."
Gauff learns not to play 'spectacularly'
At 22 years old, Gauff has secured Grand Slam titles on the US Open hard courts in 2023 and the French Open clay in 2025, yet she has not previously exhibited the same confidence on grass.
Her breakthrough came at Wimbledon in 2019 when, as a 15-year-old qualifier, she defeated one of her idols, Venus Williams, en route to the fourth round.
Nonetheless, prior to this year, Gauff had not won a match on grass for two years.
Gauff is an exceptional athlete with quick court movement, but her footwork is not always fluid when preparing shots from the baseline. Her serve has often been inconsistent, resulting in multiple double faults, and her forehand has occasionally faltered during critical moments.
Last year, she enlisted biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan, who previously helped Aryna Sabalenka overcome serving difficulties before winning major titles, just before the US Open to address these issues.
"I have really honed in on my game and realised I don't have to play a spectacular point every time to win," said Gauff.
"I think it [the breakthrough] is just trusting myself. My groundstrokes are good enough to be with anyone on this surface."
Gauff completed a comeback victory over Jessica Pegula to reach her first Wimbledon semi-final.
Fit-again Muchova 'selling' her game
Karolina Muchova, 29, is also a first-time semi-finalist at Wimbledon, having not won a match at the tournament since 2021.
Over the past six seasons, Muchova has reached the semi-finals at the other three Grand Slam events but had suffered four consecutive first-round exits at Wimbledon.
Known for her creativity and variety, Muchova possesses a game well-suited to grass courts, which reward such craft.
The main challenge for her has been maintaining fitness.
A wrist injury sidelined her for 10 months last season, and she was once advised by a doctor to stop playing tennis due to the physical strain on her body.
"I'm appreciating more that I'm here, I can play, I don't have these big issues that I had in the past," said Muchova.
"I'm also happy that I now am selling my game and I can use it."
Muchova secured a 'milestone' win over Naomi Osaka with an ace.
Kostyuk takes confidence from 'honest' chat
Marta Kostyuk was a leading player during the clay-court season, winning two consecutive titles before reaching the French Open semi-finals.
The 24-year-old did not participate in any tournaments before Wimbledon, opting instead to return home to Ukraine and take a holiday in Greece.
While optimistic about transferring her clay-court form to grass, she had not won a match on grass for two years prior to this year's championships.
"I feel like a lot of years that I played here, I played horrendous," Kostyuk said.
"I could not find my tennis on this surface, on any tournament. It was a really complicated relationship for me."
Kostyuk was still uncertain upon arriving in London nearly three weeks ago.
Losing practice sets to 44-year-old Serena Williams and Jessica Pegula did not boost her confidence, but the words of her coach Sandra Zaniewska did.
"I turned to Sandra and said: 'Can you please tell me, honestly, right now, if you think that grass suits my game?' She said: '100%'," Kostyuk said.
"That gave me something to hold onto."
Noskova feeling 'comfy' after grass success
Linda Noskova has long been regarded as a future star capable of challenging for Grand Slam titles.
She was a highly-rated junior and became the youngest player inside the top 100 in 2022.
A run to the Australian Open quarter-finals in 2024 highlighted her talent, though consistent deep runs at majors have been rare.
"She's only 21 but she has gone under the radar - that's because she hasn't deep in majors," Austin said.
"Her record is a bit streaky but I think we're seeing that consistency now.
"A lot of that is just growing up."
Noskova reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year and prepared for another strong showing this year by winning the Berlin title.
"I feel like I started to feel comfortable on grass last year," she said.
"It was just me looking forward to the next year on the grass season.
"It's good that I'm looking forward for something. Then you feel comfy on court."
Noskova advanced to her first Wimbledon semi-final.
Live scores, results and order of play
Get tennis news sent straight to your phone
