We’ve come to know Emma Navarro as the girl from Charleston, and she wears that badge with pride! The 23-year-old often hails it as her favorite city in the world, and it’s easy to see why. From attending Ashley Hall in downtown to making her WTA debut there in 2019 as an 18-year-old wildcard, Charleston is woven into the fabric of her tennis journey. Not every player on tour gets the rare privilege of competing in their hometown, isn’t it? Yet, as the global grind of the WTA Tour pulls her across continents, homesickness lingers.

On Friday, 10th seed Emma Navarro secured a solid 1 hour and 25 minute victory over lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova, advancing to the next round with confidence. Rakhimova, the 85th seed, had earned her main draw spot after losing in the final round of qualifying but rebounding with a 1st-round win over Wang Xinyu. 

Navarro quickly halted momentum in her first-ever meeting, delivering 25 winners, more than double Rakhimova’s 12, and converting five of 11 break points. 

Speaking after her 2nd-round victory with the Tennis Channel, American rising star Emma Navarro opened up about the emotional tug of life on tour, particularly how much she misses her hometown of Charleston.

“There’s times when I miss home and miss my family and friends back home. And I love Charleston. It’s probably my favorite city in the world,” she admitted.

While her heart is still rooted in Charleston, Emma also shared how she’s learning to embrace the touring lifestyle. “But you know I’m taking things in everyday and I feel like I’m doing new things new exciting things every day. And, you know there’s always a new adventure and new things to do every week every every city we go to. So I’m I’m still feeling pretty bright-eyed and‌ bushy tailed, I guess on tour. And yeah, I’m having fun,” she added, with a smile.

Just last month, Emma Navarro returned home to Charleston, soaking in the comforts of her roots after competing on tour. “Go see my family and my dogs. They’re always my first stop when I get home to Charleston,” she told Tennis.com. “It’s something that I always look forward to.” 

It’s a place of significance for her, not just sentimentally, but professionally as well.

After her debut there in 2019, she chose to attend college and later became the 2022 NCAA champion while representing the University of Virginia.

This week’s win also marked her 1st main-draw victory at the iconic Foro Italico in Rome. Last year, she had received a bye as the 21st seed but exited in the second round after a loss to Paula Badosa.

And as she heads into her R32 match tomorrow, Navarro remains focused and grounded, continuing to soak in each moment, both the victories and the learning curves on the Italian clay.

Emma Navarro shares her on-court intention while playing on clay

Emma Navarro has had a steady season, showing flashes of brilliance along the way. She reached the QF in both Auckland and Melbourne, but her standout moment came at the Merida Open Akron, where she dominated Emiliana Arango with a commanding 6-0, 6-0 win in the final. 

Despite underwhelming performances during the ‘Sunshine Doubles’ and early exits in Madrid (R32) and Stuttgart (R16), she showed promise in Charleston before falling to Amanda Anisimova in the QF. Now at the Italian Open, she’s off to a strong start with a straight-sets win, building her momentum and sharpening her clay-court game.

Talking to the post-match interview at Tennis Channel, she said, “Back in the winner circle I guess. And played some good tennis today. Definitely a tough opponent and‌ got a little dicey there I guess towards the end but held my nerve a little bit and was able to to close it out. And I’m having fun on these courts and you know I love playing on the red clay, so it’s been fun being back on it and‌ getting to run around a bit,”

Later, when the host Prakash Amritraj shared her statistic of 64% for second serve return points on clay courts, she added, “I like to attack. I like to you know kind of see it as an opportunity where I can put some pressure on my opponent and you know make them think a little bit not only on their second serve but on their first serve too. And put some pressure on their service games and I think I was able to do that pretty well today,” 

The American will now face the No. 22 seed, Clara Tauson, who has a 1-0 advantage. Can she beat Dane this time and make her move to the R16?