Before this year, Emma Navarro had never won a match in her hometown Grand Slam. So it’s not unreasonable for fans to think she’s an overnight sensation.
Though she’s a new name and a fresh face to many, the 23-year-old NCAA champion from the University of Virginia has paid her dues. Much has been made of Navarro’s privileged Upper East Side and then Charleston, S.C. upbringing as the daughter of Ben Navarro, the CEO of Sherman Financial Group and now the owner of three pro tennis tournaments.
Emma Navarro, though, has demonstrated that she is a far cry from trust-fund kids whose day job is playing influencer on Instagram. You don’t get a whiff of snobbery or entitlement from her.
Let’s take a look at what constituted Navarro’s wonderful world tour just last year. Portofino and Provence, it wasn’t. Navarro played dozens of tournaments, largely ITF (International Tennis Federation) events–a notch below the WTA tour. She glamorously toured the globe, dropping in on tourist hotspots like Tyler, Texas; Midland, Michigan; Inkley, England; Florianopolis, Brazil; and Irapuato, Mexico.
Navarro just played a ton of tennis, dedicating herself to gain experience on the pro (and sub-pro) tours and hone her game.
There are hard yards to be put in in order to have the kind of success on the pro tour that Navarro has had in the last year. Playing ITF events is not dissimilar from the route that musicians and standup comics take to get known, get a record contract, get more club dates, and pay the bills while they hone their songcraft and performing skills. They tour the country in vans, playing tiny clubs in out-of-the-way small towns with five paying customers, and sleep on fans’ floors.
That’s essentially what Navarro did in the equivalent of the WTA minor leagues, and the extra efforts have paid off in extraordinary fashion.
Navarro understandably no more wants to be defined by her privilege than someone who came from nothing and is constantly defined by what she didn’t have growing up. Navarro wants to be judged on the merits of her game, her dedication and her results.
About her father, Navarro said he “did a really good job at putting things into perspective. You know, he didn't grow up with a lot of money. It was him and seven siblings, and my grandfather coached football. He grew up as a kid doing odd jobs trying to make a penny, and he worked really hard to get where he's at. He instilled a lot of the lessons that he's learned along the way into my siblings and I.”
“He always taught us that tennis is really important but it's more about the lessons you're learning along the way, the life lessons that you're learning and you're learning how to be tough and resilient.”
She may have learned a lot from her dad, but Navarro has the kind of on-court calm and confidence that cannot be taught. Take, for example, when she found herself down 1-5 in the second set of her quarterfinal against Paula Badosa, a former world No. 2. The American was unfazed. She roared back to snatch six straight games, including 24 of the final 28 points.
Navarro admitted in her on-court interview that “I had an inkling when I got back to 5-2 that I could win it in two sets.”
In Thursday night’s final against Aryna Sabalenka, a two-time major winner and last year’s US Open finalist, Navarro came in as a significant underdog. The American did her level best to withstand the bruising barrage of big serves and heavy groundstrokes launched her way. The 6-foot Sabalenka may be intimidating, but Navarro was not intimidated.
In a tight, tense, beautifully played second set, Navarro again fell behind. “I wasn't ready for the match to be over there at 5-3. I really wanted to stick in there and keep playing. The crowd got into it, which was awesome.”
At 4-5 with Sabalenka serving for the match and a place in the final, Navarro stood her ground and held her poise. She even looked like she might have yet another inkling that she was going to turn the match around. Navarro made some quick-reflex, athletic returns of Sabalenka’s massive serves and seized control of rallies for the first time all night.
The American broke serve with her back against the wall and then confidently held for a 6-5 lead. The home crowd roared its approval as Navarro appeared to grow stronger and Sabalenka wobblier.
In the tiebreak, though, the Sabalenka onslaught ultimately proved too much; at moments the big No. 2 looked downright invincible. Surely this will be yet another valuable learning experience in Navarro’s steady upward climb. The American will reach No. 8 in the world next week.
“There was a different feeling walking out there tonight as opposed to the last few times I played,” admitted Navarro. “You know, part of it, it was the semifinals. Part of it it's a night match, my first night match on Ashe. You know, I'm playing an opponent like I did play today."
“Maybe I didn't deal with it 100% the way I wanted to throughout the match, but it's a feeling that, yeah, I'll definitely be seeking again,” she said. “I think it's something that I'll only improve at handling.”
Navarro moved with her family to Charleston when she was very young. But she retains a strong allegiance to New York City. To play her first career major semifinal in the city she was born in, said Navarro, “was so special. Playing in front of the American fans, you know, with the American flag next to my name, I have a lot of pride in where I come from. You know, being an American is something that's really important to me."
Navarro won her very first match at a slam just last year, at the French Open. In 2024, she has improved at each successive major: Navarro reached the third round at the Australian Open; the fourth round at Roland Garros; the quarterfinal at Wimbledon; and now the semifinal at the US Open. Each successful rung on the ladder has represented a career best. Talk about steady progression.
“Emma Navarro, she has been building, building, building,” observed the former US Open champion Andy Roddick on his podcast this past week. “She feels built now,”.
