Last year, while sharing her thoughts about playing on European red clay, Emma Navarro said, “It allows for some unique tennis, which is what I like.” She spoke about how she loves figuring things out on these challenging surfaces and claimed, “I like to play with some style. That’s what I enjoy about tennis, and the clay allows for that, a little bit more than hard courts.” However, this year, although she started her season quite impressively, she has struggled in the European clay-court tournaments. After facing early exits in Stuttgart, Madrid, and Rome, can Navarro make a winning start in Strasbourg against Russia’s Anna Blinkova? 

Emma Navarro vs Anna Blinkova: Preview

If we take a look at her performances this season, Emma Navarro reached the QF at the Adelaide International before making yet another QF run at the AO. In Melbourne, her journey came to an end at the hands of the former world No. 1, Iga Swiatek. Following that, she had a quiet Middle-East swing, but she came back strongly with a title triumph at the Merida Open Akron. She defeated Emiliana Arango (COL) by 6-0,6-0 in the final and became the fifth player since the year 2000 to win a WTA final without losing a game after Iga Swiatek (in the 2021 Italian Open). It was Navarro’s first WTA 500 title and also the second title of her career.

Following that near-flawless performance, she again had a quiet outing at the ‘Sunshine Doubles’, but then, Navarro managed to reach the QF at her home tournament in Charleston. She will be entering this contest following her 6-3,0-6,4-6 defeat to Denmark’s Clara Tauson in the R32 of the Italian Open.

On the other hand, Anna Blinkova’s best results this season came at the Linz Open and ATX Open, where she reached the QFs. Even Blinkova has struggled to perform in the European clay-court swing so far. But after witnessing quite a few consecutive early exits, she has managed to get some wins under her belt at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. She has already won three matches here, and her previous win came against Poland’s Magdalena Frech. She defeated Frech by 6-3,7-5 in the previous match. Can she keep her winning run intact?

Navarro vs Blinkova: Head-to-Head

Interestingly, Emma Navarro currently trails by 1-2 against the 26-year-old Russian tennis star. This will also be their second meeting in this tournament. Previously, they had faced in other in 2023.

• 2023 Strasbourg QF: Blinkova 6-4,6-4.
• 2024 US Open First Round: Navarro 6-1,6-1.
• 2024 Hong Kong QF: Blinkova 6-4,6-3.

Prediction: Navarro will win this match in straight sets

They never had to go to three sets to decide the fate of their encounter, hence I’m expecting this match to also wrap up in straight sets. But why does Emma Navarro have an edge against the Russian? Well, despite trailing the Russian by a fine margin, Navarro has been in better form this season. Navarro (9) has a win-loss record of 16-11 this season, whereas it’s just 14-12 for Blinkova (65). 

If we take a look at their playing styles, Blinkova is known for her aggressive style of play, particularly her powerful forehand and sliced serve. She is also known for her adaptability, blending aggressive and counter-outrageous styles. But her biggest concern at the moment has been her serves. She has hit 38 aces so far this season, but has committed 77 double faults.

Emma Navarro is known for her versatile and resourceful playing style, particularly on clay, characterized by excellent footwork, a strong forehand, and the ability to mix up pace and use slices effectively. She employs a compact, tactically astute game, and this can be very effective on this surface. Navarro is a gritter who can be both defensive and aggressive, forcing opponents into mistakes or attacking the net. So, considering all these factors, I feel Navarro will get the better of Blinkova in this match.