Emma Navarro has not been having a good year ever since she lost to No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva at Wimbledon earlier last month. Since then the top-seeded player has been trying to focus on her match strategy but hasn’t been able to get on top of it. She pulled out of the US Open’s Mixed Doubles Tournament, where she was paired with World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, to try out a singles match at the WTA 500 Monterey Open, but things didn’t go as planned.

Despite being waived past the first round on account of her top seeding, Navarro ended up losing to USA’s Alycia Parks, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6. Parks, who is No. 71 as per the WTA rankings, didn’t really even seem to have put up a fight worthy of a top seed, but Navarro was unable to keep up, as has been the case in 5 of her last 6 games!

As per the journalist and commentator Jose Morgado’s X account, “Navarro is slumping. Lost 5 of her last 6 matches.” Morgado then adds that just last year Navarro reached the semifinals in the US Open, and this will be her chance to defend it. But looking at her recent track record, will it even be possible?

Emma Navarro, who is only 24 seems too young to be thinking about retiring, and considering last year was her career best, it should be out of the question. However, it’s not only the fact that she is losing, but also the way in which it’s been happening that is causing concern to fans. In this year’s French Open in May, Navarro lost 6-0, 6-1 to Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the first round! Plus, in Wimbledon it was a two-set loss to Mirra Andreeva at 6-2, 6-3. This latest loss, technically Navarro’s first round at Monterey, only adds fuel to this fire, and fans certainly have some thoughts.

Fan reactions to top-seeded Emma Navarro’s losing streak

One fan made a prediction, based on the Monterey Open, for Navarro’s performance in the US Open, where the singles series will begin in a few days: “It pains me to say this. I think Emma is 1st round upset waiting to happen. I think she will be the first top seed eliminated.” Sadly, judging by Navarro’s recent streak, this does seem like the most likely outcome.

Another fan reflected on Navarro in her glory days, writing, “I fell in love with Navarro as a player 2 years ago… sad to see her completely forget her game. She’ll bounce back eventually though.” However, owing to Navarro’s age and the inevitable ups and downs in sports careers, this fan at least ended on an optimistic note.

Another fan had a completely different take, writing, “Soon to be on retirement alert???” Which is a bit jarring to read considering Navarro’s career best was just last year!

Still, there were fans who were trying to draw comparisons between Navarro’s career low and that of Stefano Tsitsipas, writing, “Is she the WTA version of tsitsipas?” Tsitsipas, who was only recently showing a ton of promise, has had a tough time since having to retire from Wimbledon on account of a back injury.

And then there was the fan, who simply said it like it is, “I’m a big fan of Navarro’s. But the truth is that she doesn’t have the killer instinct that is required to win the big tournaments and remain in the top-10 over the long haul.” It’s true, Navarro hasn’t really been demonstrating the rigor and grit that the legends do, but if she wants to get there, this week is going to be her chance to prove us wrong!