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What Emma Navarro has done before the Australian Open which has really impressed Jon Wertheim

What Emma Navarro has done before the Australian Open which has really impressed Jon Wertheim

Emma Navarro enjoyed a fantastic breakout season in 2024, with the American reaching a career-high rank of number eight.

Navarro was the WTA’s most improved player, with the 23-year-old having finished her season with a 54/24 win/loss record.

She also won her first career title in Hobart, with Navarro beating Coco Gauff twice in 2024, in rounds four of Wimbledon and the US Open.

Navarro will now be focusing on an even more impressive 2025 season, with the Australian Open the first Grand Slam in the calendar.

She fell at the third round last time out, in what was the American’s debut at the Melbourne-based tournament.

Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

How Emma Navarro has impressed Jon Wertheim before the Australian Open

Conversely, there will be plenty of expectation on Navarro in Australia this time around, particularly after her US Open semi-final run.

Speaking on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, Jon Wertheim has now provided an update on her current status.

“I’ll give you a little glimpse,” said Wertheim. “We spoke a few days ago and she gave me her schedule. She is heading down to Australia on Christmas Eve, on December 24th. And you do the lead in question – tennis has a crazy calendar.

READ MORE: Coco Gauff admits what Emma Navarro was doing on her second serve which threw her off during US Open defeat

“And she said you know what, we will do Christmas Eve on the 23rd and pretend it’s Christmassy. I’ll just go at the appointed time and I won’t miss anything. I thought this was such a window into her mentality.

“This is someone whose default position is positive. She is very organised on court but also very positive. I don’t know if this is a USTA darling who everyone had been hyping since she was 14. Quite the contrary.

“She had a very nice college season and won the NCA title as a freshman. I don’t think anyone saw this top 10 showing but she did. She has won a lot of matches.

“She is not a flashy player, she plays tennis, she does not perform it. There’s not a lot of look at me here, she just plays really solid, poised tennis and has beaten Coco at the last two majors.

“She is number eight in the world and I suspect she could walk down Broadway and go many blocks without anyone recognising her and I don’t think that bothers her.”

Qinwen Zheng and Jasmine Paolini improve alongside Emma Navarro

Navarro will be keen to use the experience she gained in 2024 to shine in 2025, but she isn’t the only WTA player in that position.

Jasmine Paolini also enjoyed a fine breakout season, with the Italian losing the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon.

Qinwen Zheng meanwhile reached the Australian Open final, with the world number five winning Olympic gold in Paris.

READ MORE: What Emma Navarro did in 2024 that was better than any other player on tour

But the regulars will also be looking to start their seasons off strongly in Australia, with defending champion Aryna Sabalenka chasing a third successive title.

She is a formidable opponent on all surfaces, particularly hard, with Sabalenka knocking Navarro out of this year’s French Open and US Open.

2024 Career
Rank 8 8 Career high
Titles 1 1 Titles
Prize money $2,751,968 $3,528,374 Prize money
Win/loss 54/24 204/113 Win/loss
Emma Navarro 2024 and career stats

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