Emma Navarro (born May 18, 2001) is an American professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of No. 8 by the WTA, achieved on September 9, 2024, and a best doubles ranking of world No. 93, achieved in August 2024.[2] She played college tennis at Virginia and won the NCAA Singles Championship in 2021, later becoming the first women's singles NCAA champion to reach the US Open semifinals.[3] She won her first WTA Tour title at the 2024 Hobart International.
Navarro was rated as the best tennis recruit in the nation and joined the Virginia Cavaliers for the fall of 2020 after having previously committed to Duke.[12] In her freshman year, she went 25–1 in singles and reached the No. 1 ranking in the country.[13] She avenged her only loss of the season in the final of the 2021 NCAA singles championship, beating defending champion Estela Perez-Somarriba of Miami.[14] She also made it to the NCAA doubles semifinals partnering Rosie Johanson. She was named the ITA Rookie of the Year and was a finalist for the Honda Sports Award.[13] With her NCAA win, she earned a wild card into the 2021 US Open main draw where she made her Grand Slam tournament debut.
Navarro went 26–2 in singles as a second-year, ending the year ranked No. 2 nationally, after losing to Abigail Rencheli of NC State in the round of 16 of the 2022 NCAA singles championship.[13][15] She was again an All-American in singles and doubles and was a finalist for the Honda Sports Award.[13] She left Virginia after her second season.[16]
2023: First major win, top 40
On her debut at the French Open as a wildcard, Navarro reached the second round defeating lucky loser, Erika Andreeva for her first win at a major.[17]
Navarro was runner-up at the Swedish Open, losing the final to Olga Danilović in three sets.[19] She reached the top 50 at No. 49, following a first-round showing at the US Open, and another semifinal at the San Diego Open,[20] on September 18. She became the third American to crack the top 50 in 2023, joining Alycia Parks and Peyton Stearns.[21]
She finished the season ranked No. 38 in singles, her highest year-end in her career.[22]
2024: First title, major semifinal, No. 8, WTA Most Improved Player of the Year
She reached a third semifinal at the Auckland Classic, defeating seventh seed Petra Martić[23] in straight sets, and another back-to-back semifinal at the Hobart International, defeating lucky loser Viktoriya Tomova, in three sets.[24] She defeated Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue and reached her first WTA Tour final on her debut at the tournament.[25] She won her maiden title defeating former two-time Hobart champion Elise Mertens.[26][27][28]
Seeded for the first time at the Australian Open as No. 27,[29] she defeated Wang Xiyu and Elisabetta Cocciaretto to reach the third round of a major for the first time in her career. As a result, she reached the top 25 in the singles rankings at No. 23, on January 29, 2024.[22]
Seeded third at the San Diego Open, she reached the semifinals defeating Katerina Siniaková and qualifier Daria Saville.
Seeded 23rd in Indian Wells, she advanced to the fourth round with wins over Ukrainians Lesia Tsurenko and 16th seed Elina Svitolina. She reached her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal by defeating world No. 2 and previous year runner-up, Aryna Sabalenka, her biggest win by ranking in her career. Navarro became the first American to defeat a top-2 opponent at the tournament since Serena Williams in 2001 against Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals.
As a result, she broke into the top 20 in the singles rankings.[30][31]
Navarro reached the fourth round of a major for the first time at the 2024 French Open with a win over 14th seed Madison Keys in two sets in the third round.[35] She eventually lost to second seed Aryna Sabalenka.[36] This moved her up to a new career-high of world No. 17, on June 10, 2024.
At Wimbledon, Navarro reached her first major quarterfinal with wins over Wang Qiang,[37]Naomi Osaka,[38]Diana Shnaider[39] and world No. 2, Coco Gauff,[40][41] before losing to world No. 7 and eventual finalist, Jasmine Paolini.[42] Due to her run, she reached the top 15 in the singles rankings on July 15, 2024.
She made her debut at the Summer Olympics in Paris where she advanced to the third round losing there to eventual gold medalist, Zheng Qinwen.[43]
Seeded 13th at the US Open and seeded for the first time at this major,[49] she reached the third round with wins over Anna Blinkova, in less than an hour,[50] and Arantxa Rus.[51] She reached the fourth round in a third major in 2024, with a win over 19th seed Marta Kostyuk.
[52] She upset again defending champion and third seed, Coco Gauff, to reach her second major quarterfinal in a row.[53] Navarro reached her first semifinal with a straight-sets win over Paula Badosa and moved to world No. 8 in the singles rankings on September 9, 2024.[54][55][56] She lost to second seed Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets.[57]
Despite being ranked as world No. 8, Navarro missed out on a place at the WTA Finals due to Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejčíková receiving entry because of a WTA rule which gives a spot to a major winner if they finish within the top 20.[58] She turned down a place as an alternate with her agent stating she had not recovered from a recent illness.[59]
Navarro is the daughter of billionaires[63]Ben and Kelly Navarro, and the granddaughter of Frank Navarro, a former American football player and coach. She is of Italian descent.[64]
Emma attended Ashley Hall, an all-girls private school in downtown Charleston, where she played on the varsity tennis team. She is good friends with fellow American tennis player Danielle Collins[65] and has viewed the latter as a role model.[66][67]
Performance timelines
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
P#
DNQ
A
Z#
PO
G
S
B
NMS
NTI
P
NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
^ abThe first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open since 2009 until 2024. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009 to 2011 before being succeeded by Qatar for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status while Qatar was demoted to Premier status. The two tournaments have since alternated status every year.
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