Melbourne, Australia — A Seriously Cold December Afternoon
A Chance Encounter
A 23-year-old woman looks up from a club chair near an elevator. She’s wearing a baseball cap, doodling around a bit on her phone.
"Hey," she says.
Take another look. Oh, right, that’s Emma Navarro: U.S. Open semifinalist and a top-10 women’s player after just one full season of top-tier tournaments. She’s chilling ahead of a packed evening of photo ops, press gaggles, and an appearance at the New York Knicks NBA basketball game with a few other tennis players you might have heard of — Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton, and Jessica Pegula.
The Exact Opposite
It might be fun. Then again, hanging out in this comfy chair, anonymously watching the bustle of her native city pass by is pretty cool too. There are many reasons why Navarro, who plays Ons Jabeur in the third round of the Australian Open Saturday, pursued tennis. Being a famous person was not one of them.
"The exact opposite," she said the other day, after a second-round win in Melbourne over Wang Xiyu of China, her second consecutive three-set battle with the outcome up in the air until the final point.
A Set Back, But Not Out
She was at it again Saturday, when she opened a packed Margaret Court Arena against Ons Jabeur, a three-time Grand Slam finalist and darling of the sport on the way back from a torrid few months with injury. After winning 20 of the first 24 points and surging to a 5-0 lead in the first set, she had to scramble in the third to prevail, saving three break points when serving at 1-2.
When it was over, she credited her parents for taking her and her siblings on six-hour bike rides when they were kids for her third-set prowess. Then she scribbled "me heart 3 sets" on the television camera. She should. She went 19-6 in matches that went the distance last season. On her way off the court, she was straight into signing autographs for fans hanging over the stands. The match was played in the light and shadow of lunchtime in Melbourne and Navarro is not yet fully adjusted to being center stage, day after day after day.
Adjusting to the Spotlight
"It’s something that I work really hard at managing and feeling comfortable with being in the spotlight. It’s the opposite of my nature. It feels unnatural," she said.
This happens in tennis sometimes. Not everything develops in sync. Not everyone who can fire forehands and backhands on a wire seemingly all afternoon is an alpha-dog extrovert, letting their life unfold in a series of Instagram posts and TikTok videos.
A Different Path
And so it is with Navarro, whose tennis life had been an exploration in incrementalism up until the summer of last year. At 18, after a terrific junior career — including a singles final and doubles title at the French Open — she still wasn’t sure she wanted to be a professional tennis player. So she went to the University of Virginia for two years, where she won the NCAA nationwide college-level women’s singles championship.
When she did turn pro, she opted not to pursue wild-card entries that might have been easily attainable, given that her father, Ben, is active in the tennis business and owns the ATP and WTA 1000-level Cincinnati Open. She was fine climbing her way through second-tier tournaments on the ITF and WTA 125 circuits.
Finding Her Footing
Navarro was outside the top 100 as recently as April 2023. She finished that year as world No. 32, the magic number for a Grand Slam seeding, and won her first WTA Tour tournament in Hobart, Tasmania, the day before the start of the 2024 Australian Open.
Then she played her way into the spotlight. She notched consecutive wins over Coco Gauff, first at Wimbledon and then the U.S. Open, where Gauff, now a friend, was the defending champion. She rose into the top 10 for the first time. And that’s when things started to get a little busy.
A New Reality
A flood of interview and appearance requests. A commercial portfolio that now includes deals with Fila, Yonex, Red Bull, Dove, Fanatics, De Bethune, and, as of Friday, Mejuri, the high-end jewelry brand that put her in a bespoke photo shoot in Charleston, S.C., in December. Navarro is the company’s first athlete ambassador.
For Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, Naomi Osaka and Gauff, Iga Swiatek and Zheng Qinwen, something like that is just another day ending with a "Y". For Navarro, it is, in her own words, "an adjustment".
Conclusion
As Navarro navigates this new reality, she is finding ways to stay true to herself while adapting to her new role. She is working hard to manage her time and prioritize her well-being, all while continuing to push herself to reach new heights on the court.
FAQs
Q: What are the challenges of being a top-10 tennis player?
A: Navarro cites the need to constantly manage her time and prioritize her well-being, while also adapting to her new role in the spotlight.
Q: How does Navarro stay grounded despite her newfound fame?
A: She credits her parents for being a source of support and her own humility, saying that she is "just a normal person" who is "trying to do what’s right".
Q: What is Navarro’s approach to her tennis game?
A: She is focused on developing her precision and strategy, rather than trying to be a flashy player. She believes that her strengths lie in her ability to be consistent and wear down her opponents.
Q: How does Navarro view her new status as a top-10 player?
A: She sees it as an opportunity to grow and evolve as a player, but also acknowledges the challenges that come with being in the spotlight. She is working hard to stay true to herself and manage the pressures of her new role.