Emma Navarro has built a knack for stealing victories from the jaws of defeat. Remember the multiple hard-fought three-setters she won at the 2025 AO? The American was on the brink of an early exit at the hands of Peyton Stearns in her first match itself, but she fought till the end and somehow clinched victory by 6-7 (7), 7(7)-6, 7-5, in what she later called a “crazy” match. The 23-year-old then went on to play three more three-setters and won all of them before her campaign eventually came to an end against Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals. Quite a campaign, wasn’t it? Guess who is a big admirer of Navarro’s grit, apart from her fans?
Emma Navarro has played 17 matches so far this season, and 7 out of them have been three-setters! Her match against Stearns at the AO was one of her remarkable comebacks this season. Shortly after securing that hard-fought victory, she admitted, “I just kept telling myself there at the end, Make the most of the skills I have today. I think maybe that’s something that kind of clicked there for me at the end.” Staying “tough” till the end helped her win that battle.
Even at the ongoing BNP Paribas Open in the Indian Wells, Navarro showcased a similar fight back in her first-round match against Romania’s Sorana Cirstea. She lost the first set to the Romanian, but managed to pull things back in her favor in her next two sets to secure the match by a 3-6,6-1,7-6(3) margin. Following that incredible comeback, Navarro again emphasized that her ability to fight and pull through the bad days helped her seal the victory.
“I think mental toughness. I think nights like tonight, where you’re not playing your best and, you know, I just try to get the most out of myself on my worst day, and I think that’s what, uh, you know, makes me a good player,” Navarro said.
And, well, her incredible mental strength has often been hailed by her peers as well. Recently, the world number one, Aryna Sabalenka, weighed in on the American’s mental toughness during one of her recent interviews at Indian Wells.
Aryna Sabalenka has faced Emma Navarro three times in her career. Although she currently has a lead of 2-1 over the American, Navarro defeated her in the R16 of the 2024 Indian Wells Open by 6-3,3-6,6-2. When asked if Navarro is developing a reputation as someone who’s really mentally tough, Sabalenka said, “Yeah, she’s definitely mentally tough. I mean, I don’t know what else I can say. She’s a great player. Fighting for every point. She has a lot of great stuff in her game.“
The Belarusian further highlighted Navarro’s incredible display of resilience at this year’s AO. “As I said, Australian Open was crazy, and she was there. She was fighting no matter the way she felt, I’d say, because I think she didn’t play her best tennis in some of the matches, but she was still there fighting and getting those wins. And also last match here, I think was it 3-5, 15-40 and she was returning, I believe, or she was serving? It was like something like that. So it definitely says something. Yeah, mentally she’s tough,” Sabalenka added.
Mar 13, 2024; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Emma Navarro (USA) hits a shot in her fourth round match as she defeated Aryna Sabalenka (RUS) in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
This isn’t the first time Sabalenka has heaped praise on Navarro. Last year, when she defeated the Belarusian herself at the Indian Wells, the she said, “Her potential is really great. I think she’s already in the top. Yeah, I think she have this potential to be in top 10.” Well, Sabalenka’s prediction was right! Emma Navarro is currently ranked 8th in the world.
Even after securing victory against Navarro in the SF of the 2024 US Open, Aryna Sabalenka was all praise for the 23-year-old: “I really enjoyed playing, and she’s such a great player, really tough opponent. I’m really happy to get through these difficult semifinals.”
And it’s not just Sabalenka who is mighty impressed with Navarro; another Grand Slam champion echoes the same thoughts.
Madison Keys calls Emma Navarro as the “grittiest player” on the Tour
Last year, Emma Navarro defeated the top-ranked American women’s tennis player, Coco Gauff, twice in the same season. Her first victory came in the R16 of the Wimbledon Championships, where she beat Gauff comfortably in straight sets 6-4,6-3. After that emphatic victory, she revealed she had a lot of questions in her mind ahead of that match. “Why not me? Why not? Why can’t I make a quarterfinal run? Why can’t I go deep in Grand Slams?” she asked herself before facing Gauff. However, what she showcased on the court was a relatively calm and composed demeanor.
Later, she secured another victory over Gauff in the 2024 US Open. It was a hard-fought three-setter, and after that match, Serena Williams’ former coach, Rick Macci, said, “What I love about Emma Navarro besides her improvising skills is her mindset…SHE HAS THAT INTENSITY AND CALMNESS ON THE SAME PAGE.”
Recently, even Madison Keys expressed her admiration for Emma Navarro’s mental fortitude by saying, “Emma is one of the grittiest players I think I have ever watched…I think it’s one of her biggest weapons that she has. I think you can never really count her out.“
Navarro, however, recently faced a setback at the hands of Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the R32 of the Indian Wells. Vekic defeated her 7-6(5),6-1. However, looking at Navarro’s incredible track record of making strong comebacks, do you think she will make a deep run in Miami?
The post “Fighting No Matter”- Emma Navarro’s Grit Catches Aryna Sabalenka’s Eye After a ‘Crazy’ Australian Open appeared first on EssentiallySports.
