When it comes to Grand Slam events, Emma Navarro has been the biggest hurdle for Coco Gauff in the past few months. Navarro defeated Gauff in the R16 of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships by 6-4,6-3. After seeing Gauff running out of ideas to counter her, and seeking help from her coaching team, Navarro said, “It’s definitely a bit of a confidence boost, knowing that your game plan is doing what you wanted it to do.” Then again, in New York, she defeated Gauff in the R16, but this time it took three sets to decide the winner of that match. After seeing her impressive performance at the US Open, Serena Williams’ ex-coach, Rick Macci, said, “What I love about Emma Navarro besides her improvising skills is her mindset.” Taking that same mindset of overcoming massive hurdles, Navarro reached the QF of the AO, earlier this season. But now, her shocking exit from the 2025 French Open has drawn quite a few reactions from the tennis world. Is she having an injury?
Well, Coco Gauff’s ex-coach Brad Gilbert recently shared a few thoughts on this. Just a few months ago, Emma Navarro became the first player to win a WTA final (Merida Open Akron) by a 6-0,6-0 margin (against Emilian Arango) since Iga Swiatek. And, now, she has been defeated by the world number 68, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, in the first round of the 2025 French Open by 0-6,1-6. What a shocking turn of fate!
It took the Spaniard just 57 minutes to seal the deal in this match. Although Navarro successfully avoided the “double bagel“, her performance has now raised quite a few question marks. Brad Gilbert recently came up with a tweet saying, “Wow, just seeing live scores, what happened to Emma Navarro, got hammered by Spanish player Manero.” After seeing this tweet, one of the fans wrote, “Some speculate illness perhaps was a factor. She didn’t seem to put in effort to chase down some balls which is unlike her.” Having seen Navarro closely while coaching Coco Gauff, Brad Gilbert took the speculations to newer heights. He replied to that fan, saying, “Very unlike her.”
Wow just seeing live scores what happened to Emma Navarro, got hammered by Spanish player Manero
— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) May 26, 2025
Emma Navarro is currently ranked ninth in the world, but her recent exit has now raised some serious question marks about her Top 10 spot. She has a win-loss record of 17-12 this season. Can Navarro make a stronger comeback in her next tournament? Time will tell! But let’s find out some of the reactions surrounding this massive upset at the French Open.
“One of the most shocking performances from a top 10 player” – tennis world reacts to Emma Navarro’s loss
Emma Navarro was struggling right from the start of this match. She was broken seven times, claiming just 30 of 86 total points. Her opponent in this match, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, has a habit of forcing such massive upsets in big events. For example, last year she defeated the former Grand Slam winner, Marketa Vondrousova, in the first round of the Wimbledon Championships by 6-4,6-2. But stealing a bagel in the first set and then almost securing another in the second one, and that too against an in-form player, is quite exceptional.
Reacting to this shocking result, commentator Matt Chilton mocked Emma Navarro, saying, “Got the bagel in the first set and now applying smoked salmon and cream cheese to it in the second set.” Then renowned tennis journalist, Jose Morgado, tweeted, “One of the most shocking performances from a top 10 player that I’ve ever seen. Shockingly flat from her today.“
Keeping the curiosity intact, Mark Petchey said, “That is a devastating loss. I feel like there’s an explanation coming.” In the last four decades, only two other women (Steffi Graf and Serena Williams have conceded just one game in a match against a Top 10 opponent in Paris. What did Maneiro say after this match?
“Right now I just feel really happy how I played today, how I was handling pressure and nerves for the first round here. Last year was tough for me and I wanted to do my best, and I think I did it, so happy for that..I just think that everything is possible, I try to play my best every match. I have my team here, I knew that I have a lot of support and we prepared as well for the match as we could. Of course, I didn’t expect this score, this result! But yeah, I’m happy,” said the 22-year-old Spaniard. However, despite this early exit, Navarro still managed to bag $88,000 with her first-round appearance at the 2025 French Open. But do you think Emma Navarro can make a strong comeback after this devastating result with some impressive performances in the rest of her tournaments this year?
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