23 year old Emma Navarro just achieved her biggest accomplishment in reaching her first Grand Slam Semi Final. She got there by beating US #1, Coco Gauff, but who saw this coming?
Simon said on March 25th, 2024 that Emma Navarro was the best US women’s tennis player. She ended up losing that match, but since then, she’s beaten Coco Gauff twice in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon and The US Open.
It didn’t take long for me to notice Emma as she kept delivering across surfaces this year. With her consistency and quality groundstroke play, I was captivated from the first time I watched her. What stood out to me across weeks, countries and tournaments has been her attitude and approach. She plays with a bunch of pride, but tends to stay fairly level headed, often hiding her emotions throughout her match. This became even more clear when she would come out for 250 events the same way she approached 1000s. No matter the level of the tournament, she comes out prepared to execute her gameplan. That can be extremely disruptive for an opponent specifically playing a woman with Emma’s playstyle. She comes from the University of Virginia, where she won the NCAA title in 2021. Her game is extremely well rounded, with elite ball striking on both wings. Emma’s quite content to deflect pace and work her way through points until its her time to dictate. I see Emma primarily as a hard court player, but I do believe she has the tools and movement to become a great clay player!
Where she separates herself from the group is her consistency and willingness to pay one extra ball. It’s genuinely incredible to watch her fight through points, she never gives up. That grit and consistency can be such a huge advantage in the women’s game. The level in women’s matches fluctuates just a bit more compared to the men’s game because of the lack of free points. Many more rally balls that show the true colors of a player’s ability. That’s why being a grinder and continuing to extend points can be so frustrating for opponents.
I think it’s important to highlight Navarro’s positive mental state throughout matches. Just this past weekend, Emma was leading Coco Gauff by a set and a break at 6-4 4-3, and then she went on to lose 3 straight games, resetting the match at one set apiece. Coco regains momentum, she’s a heavy favorite again (all of a sudden), and Navarro is forced to recollect her thoughts. Coco gets an early hold out of the gates in the decider, meanwhile Navarro is stone cold, ready to do her job. I think she knew in the back of her head, like me, that Coco would begin to miss again so she just had to stay solid. She found success hanging a bit deeper behind the baseline than usual, hitting with excellent depth, forcing Coco to pick up a lot of shots at her feet. Once Coco became impatient and started hitting for the lines, it was over. Navarro’s brick wall approach outlasted Coco’s mental, leading to poor decision making and timely unforced errors.
It’s time like these, and the Wimbledon run she had just two months ago, where you start to understand your identity. Navarro can now say she’s been there, especially against her fellow and top countrywoman. There should be no test ahead of Emma where she’s thinking negatively. She has the tools to compete with all play styles across all surfaces. Not many players on tour can say that. Her athleticism is the foundation to her identity, and having the willingness to be a pest will create one or two bad misses for opponents in the long run.
Now, she’s up against the tallest task in tennis at the moment, which is Aryna Sabalenka on a slick hard court. I will admit that the match is on Sabalenka’s racket, but that’s how it’s supposed to be. Where I think Emma can insert herself into the match is her ability to absorb and deflect power. Now, much easier said than done, but Emma doesn’t produce heavy revolutions on her groundstrokes, so she’s not generating as much spin as others. That is important for Emma, as she doesnt want to give Sabalenka much time from the baseline. Eventually with depth and consistency, I can feel Sabalenka starting to overhit. Once she misses a few open court forehands or backhands, the match could begin to open up. I think Emma could also take a page out of Tiafoe’s book and rush the net here and there. At least feel it out, make sabalenka hit passing shots and if she does we nod our head and go back to the baseline.
Come on Emma! It wasn’t supposed to be easy…
Until next time,
Simon
