Wimbledon 2026: Semi-Final Showdown | Djokovic’s Epic Battle, Britain’s Fairytale & The Final Four

The Wimbledon semi-finals are here! We recap the biggest moments from the past week, including Novak Djokovic’s epic battle, Arthur Fery’s incredible fairytale run, the shock exits of Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula, and preview today’s blockbuster semi-finals with predictions for who will reach the finals. 

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Transcript

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Hello everyone and welcome back to Off the Court where we bring you all the biggest stories from the world of tennis. I'm your host, Paris, and what a week it has been at Wimbledon. Since our last episode, we've gone from the round of 16 all the way through to the semifinals. We've seen top seeds fall, new stars emerge, five set classics, emotional victories, and one of the greatest British Wimbledon stories in this open era. With the finals now just around the corner, let's catch you up on everything we've missed. But of course, before we do that, we're gonna give a massive shout out to this week's sponsor, Air Allo. And if you guys have been listening along, you guys know that we love Air Allo. We talk about them all the time. We are big Air Allo fans. What is Air Allo? It is an all-in-one Data Sim pack that you can use when you're traveling to always stay connected, whether you want to watch tennis, whether you want to chat with friends or family, no matter where you are in the world, from over 200 different countries, you have the ability to do this. So make sure you guys check out Air Aloe. And for a sneaky little discount, make sure you check the link in the bio as well. Okay, so earlier in the week, the second week of Wimbledon got off to a dramatic start, as per usual, with the tournament taking some unexpected turns. The biggest shock on the women's draw was World No. Arena Sabalenka, knocked out in the fourth round. Her exit completely opened up the top half of the women's draw and guaranteed we'd see a very different race for the title that many had predicted. Not long after, another fan favourite also bowed out. Jessica Pagula, who had battled her way into the quarterfinals after coming from a set down against Eva Jobic in the fourth round, couldn't hold off fellow American Coco Goff, who fought back to win in three sets and book her first Wimbledon semi-final appearance. With Sabalenka, Madison Keyes, and Jessica Pagula both gone, the women's draw suddenly became wide open, giving a new generation of players the chance to compete for one of Tennis's biggest prizes. However, it also gave the opportunity for some people that we've been waiting on for a little while to see what they can do. Meanwhile, on the men's side, defending champion Yannick Sinna continued to move quietly through the draw with barely a hiccup. Novak Djokovic kept answering questions about his fitness, and Sasha Zwev looked more comfortable on grass with every passing moment. Of course, Sasha's also got the glow. He has the massive glow because he's just won a title, so, and not just any title, a grand slam. Um, but in the men's side, and we'll circle back to the women's in a little bit, but the main story of the men's, of course, is Arthur Ferry coming into Wimbledon as a wild card. Very few expected him to still be standing in the second week, let alone the first week. Then came his unforgettable fourth round victory over Grigor Dmitrov. You love you, Grigol. Um, after an epic five-set battle that had Senacourt on its feet, Ferry showed incredible composure to put off the biggest win of his career. Instead of being satisfied with reaching the quarterfinals, he backed it up in spectacular fashion yesterday by facing ninth seed Flavio Caboli, Ferry produced one of the best performances of the tournament, winning in straight sets to become, now listen to this crazy cool fact, the second British men's wildcard in the open era to reach to reach a Wimbledon semi-final. The center court atmosphere has been unbelievable. And suddenly, the hometown hero who grew up just a few miles from the gates of Wimbledon is a world sensation. Now, let's talk about that because these past two Grand Slams, we've had some amazing runs with wild cards on the women's side, obviously at the French Open, and here now with the US, uh sorry, with the with Wimbledon, we'll get to the US in September, but with Wimbledon and with Arthur Ferry, I think also to note, Grugo had an amazing tournament to come back from where he's to, let me rephrase that, to overcome what he has gone through in the past year, exactly a year, since that awful injury where he hobbled off last year. Um, it's just been incredible to watch. It's been powerful. For him to go deep into a second week of a slam is highly important, especially at this stage of his career. You know, Grigor's been around for a long time. Um, a lot longer than Kaboli and Ferry and Yannick and all of these guys, like Grigor's been around for quite some time. So it's really nice to see him. Obviously, the match before that, he played Beratini and he wasn't able to come through. You can go back and check our previous episode for info on that. And of course, the man that refuses to go away. If Arthur Ferry has been a story of the tournament, Novak Djokovic has once again reminded everyone why he's still one of the greatest competitors this sport has ever seen, slash sport in general. His quarterfinal against Oja Aliasim was simply extraordinary. Playing through injury and battling for more than five hours, yes, five hours and 14 minutes, Djokovic somehow found a way to win. In a super tie break, he ended up taking control. Every time it looked like Felix had taken control, though, Novak responded. Every time fatigue set in, he somehow lifted again. It was another classic Djokovic performance and another reminder that experience counts for so much at Wimbledon. Gal at 39 years old, he's just two victories away from an incredible 25th Grand Slam singles title. So of course, this brings up the question: he has Yannick Sinna next. Can he overcome Yannick Sinna? Can he make it to a final again here at Wimbledon? Is he able to do that? We will see in a couple of days' time. It'll be Friday, I believe. Um, Sinna continues to look like the man to beat, though. I beg to differ. I would say Sasha seems like the man to beat. But while others have been involved in marathon battles, Yannick Sinna has continued doing what he does best, winning. A straight-set victory over Jean Leonard Straff secured him yet another Wimbledon semi-final, and he's looking like the player to beat. The reigning champion versus one of the greatest players of all time. Who will win? Now, he arguably some would say he's had an easier draw. He has. But I do think that it still has given him a bit of an edge. We'll see though. It's been clinical performances all the way through for Yannick, so let's just see how it goes on Friday. Zwerev's best chance. Fresh off his French Open Triumph, like we just said, Alexander Zwerev has carried that confidence onto the grass. He looked outstanding against Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals, serving brilliantly and controlling the match from start to finish. For years, Grass has been considered the one surface where Zwerev struggled to produce his best tennis. Not this year, ladies and gents. He's now just one match away from reaching back-to-back grand slam finals and his first Wimbledon final. Can he do it? He's we're just gonna see. We're gonna see. He's gotta get past Arthur Ferry, so let's have a look. It's definitely possible. Definitely possible. Coco Goff has continued the fight through every challenge and has now reached her first Wimbledon semi-final. Standing opposite her is Carolina Mochova, whose all-court game has once again proved why she's one of the toughest opponents on grass. The second semi-final features two first-time Wimbledon semi-finalists, and everybody, these matches are coming up so soon today. Ukraine's Matakostiak has produced some fearless tennis as well as a fearless outfit, while Czech star Linda Noskova has continued her breakout grass court season with another outstanding week. Whoever wins these matches will become a first-time Grand Slam finalist, like we mentioned. But yeah, it belongs to the ladies, starting with Kokokoff and Karolina Muchova, Martha Kostiak and Linda Noskova. Um tomorrow, Britain's fairy tale continues as Arthur Ferry faces Sasha Zwerev before Senna Court hosts a blockbuster between Djokovic and Sinna. Guys, we have a lot of fun tennis still to come. My predictions for today's women's semifinals, I'm gonna go with Coco Golf, but I do think there could be an upset brewing here. I'd also like to think that Mata Kostiak has the confidence and momentum to get past Linda. Looking ahead to the men's semifinals, I'm expecting another classic, but I do think as much as I would love it to be Novak, I have a feeling it's going to be Sinner. And I'm gonna go with Sash because he's got nothing to lose right now. He's a Grand Slam champion just not even a month ago, and he's just doing so well. So I wouldn't say him. But the British Wildcard could surprise us. Can he sustain this high, this ride? Can he sustain this for the next couple of days? Um, guys, can I just say we have had a crazy Wimbledon again this year? We've had a lot of early shocking exits. We had obviously Ben Shalton in the first round. We had Igor Sviantec and I believe it was the second, possibly the third round. We've had a lot of early exits, Francis Tiafo just a couple days ago. Um, it's been back to back to back to back, and and we're here. So that wraps up another episode of Off the Court. The business end is here. Do not miss this weekend, the next four days. It's going to be insane. Women's final on Saturday, men's final on Sunday, of course, semifinals Thursday, Friday, so today and tomorrow. I will be back after the semifinals to break down all of the action for championship weekend. So make sure you stay tuned for that. Thank you guys so much for listening and a massive shout out to our sponsors, Air Allo. You guys have been listening to Off the Court and go enjoy Wimbledon.