Czech news in brief for July 12: Sunday's top morning headlines

Good morning! Czech sports is celebrating a historic moment today as Linda Nosková won the Wimbledon women's singles title last evening. Her victory over fellow Czech player Karolína Muchová marked the first all-Czech Grand Slam final and capped a remarkable tournament for Czech tennis.

Meanwhile, the 60th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has come to a close, and Czech co-production Fruit Gathering has been crowned as the winner of the Crystal Globe. Find out more, along with the latest headlines from Czechia, in today’s news mix.

Czech political leaders congratulated Linda Nosková after she defeated Karolína Muchová to win the Wimbledon women’s singles title on Saturday. President Petr Pavel, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and other politicians praised both players for their performances in the first all-Czech Grand Slam singles final.

Czech tennis in the spotlight: Pavel invited both players to Prague Castle and called the tournament a celebration of Czech tennis. Politicians across the political spectrum said Nosková and Muchová had represented Czechia with distinction on one of tennis’ biggest stages.

The 2026 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival awarded its top prize, the Crystal Globe, to Fruit Gathering, a Myanmar-Czech-French co-production directed by first-time filmmaker Aung Phyoe. The drama, which explores queer desire and contemporary life in Myanmar, also received support from the Czech Audiovisual Fund.

KVIFF closes: French actress Juliette Binoche received the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema, while Jeffrey Wright and Magda Vášáryová accepted the festival’s President’s Award. The next Karlovy Vary film festival will take place July 2–10, 2027.

President Petr Pavel said he expects relations with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to improve after recent disputes over his participation in the NATO summit in Ankara. Speaking at Slovakia’s Pohoda festival, Pavel said cooperation between the country’s top constitutional officials is essential despite political differences.

Political rift: Pavel also dismissed calls by the SPD to revoke Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Czech state honor as “absurd.” He said Czechia should remain firmly aligned with its Western allies and continue supporting Ukraine as a matter of national security.

Two foreign motorcycle racers died following a crash during the Alpe Adria Championship at Brno’s Masaryk Circuit on Saturday. Organizers canceled the remainder of the weekend’s racing after one rider died at the scene and the other later succumbed to injuries in hospital.

Fatal accident: Police said a 33-year-old rider apparently experienced a technical problem and was unable to start his motorcycle before being struck from behind by a 44-year-old competitor. Authorities are investigating the circumstances of the crash.

Czechia is expected to see another period of hot weather this week, with temperatures forecast to reach around 33 degrees Celsius on Tuesday and possibly higher on Wednesday. The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute said dry conditions will continue to worsen due to a lack of rainfall.

Dry conditions: Meteorologists expect little precipitation over the next five to seven days, with drought already severe in some areas. A possible weather change is expected later in the week, with forecasts ranging from cooling to continued high temperatures.