The rise of mold-breaking Emma Navarro

Midway through her recent exhibition match with Jessica Pegula at Madison Square Garden, Emma Navarro went swooping in from the baseline to block back a second serve. It was a reprisal of the briefly famous novelty move that Roger Federer invented and aptly named, the SABR (Sneak Attack by Roger).

It was a telling moment, especially if you were aware that at almost the same exact time last year, Navarro, far from New York City’s iconic sports arena, was in the process of losing her first-round match in the Florianopolis WTA 125 tournament to a player ranked 210^th in the world.

A lot has changed for Navarro in 12 months. And the eighth-ranked player in the world doesn’t look to be done yet.

“I feel like I’ve learned a ton this year, and I’m really excited to take what I've learned this year into the next year,” Navarro said at a media roundtable shortly before The Garden Cup exo. “And it’s exciting to have the opportunity to go back and play these tournaments for a second time.”

Navarro might have been singling out the US Open, where she reached the semifinal before losing to eventual champion and current No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. But she has other fish to fry.

There’s the challenge of defending her first (and, thus far, only) WTA title, early in the new year in Hobart. Improving on her third-round showing at the Australian Open. Atoning for the second-round loss in her home tournament, Charleston. Punching through on the surface that so baffles most Americans, clay. Better management of her fall schedule.

It’s exciting to have the opportunity to go back and play these tournaments for a second time. Emma Navarro

Navarro doesn’t have a checklist, but she’s the kind of person who might just as well. It was easy to underestimate her drive when she first appeared on the scene, fresh out of two years at the University of Virginia and the daughter of a billionaire—a tournament-owner to boot. But the 23-year-old righthander quickly rendered the issue of her family’s wealth a moot point. And she isn’t resting on the laurels she earned in 2024—Navarro is planning moves.

“This year, I’ve learned that the more I know, the more I realize I don't know,” Navarro said. She views the upcoming year as “an opportunity to be able to continue to learn. It’s really exciting, and that’s what keeps me motivated.”

It’s as easy to underrate Navarro’s game as it was to take a jaundiced view of her background. This era in women’s tennis is bursting with power strokes and big frames: the only player in the Top 10 shorter than 5’7” Navarro is 5’4” Jasmine Paolini. But the success of Paolini and other less-than-imposing players demonstrates that big hearts and brains can hold their own with big games.

One of the highlights of Navarro’s year was successive fourth-round wins in the last two majors over current No. 3 Coco Gauff. After losing to Navarro in New York, Gauff—the deposed champion—said of her conqueror, “She’s a great returner. I think she does a great job with just redirecting (the ball during rallies). She’s kind of an all-court player.

“She can do everything. . .obviously a great player.”

Navarro is less explosive than some in the Top 10, including Gauff, but she’s quick and has excellent footwork, an asset for any player with a disruptive style. She likes to force the action and has no fear of attacking the net. She teases opponents by mixing up her pace, and makes good use of slice and swipe on the forehand side. Her matches are a showcase of versatility that bodes well for her future on clay. She reached the fourth round of Roland Garros this year, defeating compatriot Madison Keys in two tiebreakers along the way, but lost to Sabalenka.

“[Clay] allows for some unique tennis, which is what I like,” Navarro told the WTA media team during the European clay swing. “I like problem-solving, I like figuring things out. I like that I can be creative, play with some style. That’s what I enjoy about tennis, and the clay allows for that a little bit more than hard courts.”

Those sound like strange words coming from the mouth of an American player. But Navarro is a mold-breaking player. She has already surprised us in many ways, most notably her rapid rise to the elite level in 2024.

Navarro’s year of learning ended on a down note as she struggled in the post-US Open Asia swing. She was tired after an enervating Open. She underestimated the required commitment and took her foot off the gas in the final swing of the year.

“It sort of felt like, ‘OK, it's been a great season,’” she admitted. “I didn’t give Asia the credit it deserved. . . I'll be able to do better next year.”

Nothing Navarro achieves next year should surprise us—except, perhaps, if she trots out another SABR in official tournament play.