Emma Navarro's 2024 US Open semifinal mindset: 'Go after it'
When 23-year-old Emma Navarro stepped out onto Centre Court to contest her first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon in July, she was seen as the slight favorite. She’d just upset reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff in straight sets in the Round of 16, and she’d beaten her opponent, the 2024 French Open finalist Jasmine Paolini on the three previous occasions they competed. (In two of those matches, the American served up a 6-0 bagel to the Italian.) Instead, when their Wimbledon encounter ended a mere 58 minutes later, Navarro managed to claim just three games.
At the time, Navarro kept the loss in perspective. After all, that fortnight, she’d defeated four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, Diana Shnaider, and Gauff to score her best-ever result at a major.
“I played the best tennis I've ever played in my life this tournament,” she said then. “It's really exciting to know I have that level inside of me. I know I'll keep improving on it. I know this isn't the last time I'm going to be in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam. I know I'll be back. Just obviously disappointed today, but big picture-wise, really excited to keep improving.”
On Tuesday at the 2024 US Open, she was, in fact, back. In her second-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance—which she earned once again upsetting world No. 3 Gauff in the Round of 16—Navarro broke her opponent Paula Badosa twice in the first set, then erased a 1-5 deficit in the second—capturing 24 of the last 29 points—to storm into her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal.
Emma Navarro celebrates after winning a women's singles quarterfinal match at the 2024 US Open. Photo by Darren Carroll/USTA.
Needless to say, she improved. And she also learned.
“I think at Wimbledon I talked myself into some emotions that I didn’t necessarily feel or need to feel coming into the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam,” the preternaturally self-possessed Navarro said after the match. “So coming out on the court here today, I felt much much more comfortable, and yeah, I was ready to rock. I think I’m at the point in my career where I’m not scared of any result or making a run at any tournament.”
Emma Navarro serves during her quarterfinal match at the 2024 US Open. Photo by USTA Photos/USTA.
Navarro’s openness and willingness to quickly learn and grow from new experiences is ultimately what has catapulted the former University of Virginia standout up the rankings over the last two years. Ranked just inside the world’s Top 150 at the beginning of 2023, she’s now set to make her Top 10 debut once the tournament ends.
She’ll be the first to tell you that rise didn’t happen overnight. For much of 2023 she was still playing lower-level ITF events in places like Vero Beach, Florida, and Tyler, Texas. The losses and wins she took at those tournaments—and what she gleaned from those results—ultimately helped prepare her for the bigger stages on which she competes today.
“I think I've gone through periods of time where I'm surprised at where I'm at,” she said.
“But also when I look back and think about the methodical approach to tennis that I've taken…it's not surprising. I feel just more comfortable now with having good results and having success…I think I'm ready to be in this position and I think that's probably a result of just this sort of slow, gradual approach I have taken to tennis and improving myself.”
A Grand Slam semifinal, of course, is uncharted territory. She’ll have to adjust on the fly, as both her potential opponents—two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and 2024 Australian Open finalist Zheng Qinwen—have previously reached that round at a major. Navarro, as is her tendency, seemed nonchalant about the prospect. She’s played both of them before, and she’s added those experiences into her toolkit.
“[Qinwen’s] a great player,” Navarro said. “I think she has a really good serve, really big groundstrokes. I think she's super powerful, and covers the court well, puts a lot of pressure on you as a returner and on the serve, as well. I think it will be a great challenge. And Sabalenka is similar. Big serve, big groundstrokes. So I probably take those two matches on similar terms. Trying to scrap out some longer points and make them hit one more ball.”
Emma Navarro signs autographs for fans after a women's singles quarterfinal match at the 2024 US Open. Photo by Darren Carroll/USTA.
At a minimum, after a season in which she collected eight Top 20 wins, including an upset of Sabalenka at Indian Wells, Navarro at least has the pre-big match mindset on lock.
“Yeah, I think [experience] definitely comes into play,” Navarro said when asked if Sabalenka’s eight Grand Slam semifinals might give the world No. 2 an advantage, should they meet.
“She's been on this stage before. She's been in this position before. But she might feel like she has something to lose, whereas I feel like I have everything to go after. That's something that I work on a lot, trying to put myself in a position to go after something, no matter the match or the opponent.”
Spoken just like a player who fought back from 1-5 down and won 24 of the last 29 points in her second-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal.
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