Emma Navarro is a fine player and a fantastic athlete, but one might wonder if she can achieve long-sustained greatness at the top of the WTA. She is a bit like Jessica Pegula-lite. She does most things well, but nothing at an elite level.
Still, she is going to keep herself in matches through sheer competitiveness and technique. She knows the game well and her family is intertwined with tennis. Her father is a huge investor in the Charleston Open, for instance. But Navarro hasn't had anything on the WTA tour handed to her. She has earned what she has gotten.
In the third round of Wimbledon 2025, the American was going to have to scratch for everything she got against 2024 champion Barbora Krejčíková. Navarro's struggle wasn't just against a player who knew she could win the tournament, but from an entire country that knows they can.
Emma Navarro defeats Barbora Krejčíková in the third round at Wimbledon 2025
The Czech tennis machine on the ladies' side is impressive. Krejčíková won the grass-court major last year, and Marketa Vondrousova won the year before. 20-year-old Linda Noskova has a real chance to win the title this year.
After falling in the first set 2-6, Navarro appeared to be set to be just another bump in the road to a deep run by Krejčíková. The Czech had not played much in 2025 due to injury, but she had to be confident entering an event that shocked everyone in the previous year.
But things changed suddenly in the second set. Navarro was able to get a break and then another to finish off the set 6-3. Krejčíková appeared to be tiring or dealing with some kind of physical ailment as she often bent over between points. She was still able to strike the ball well enough to steal some points, though.
In the third set, the players seemed unable to hold serve for a while. Each got a pair of breaks, the set stood at 3-all, and it seemed as if a player could simply hold serve, that might be all they needed to gather momentum and steal the match.
Krejčíková was the bigger hitter, but Navarro moved much better. The Czech tried to keep points short while the American didn't mind longer rallies. Navarro got another break to lead 4-3 in a match that had been increasingly leaning toward whoever was returning serve.
Finally, though, serving at 4-3, Navarro was able to hold to get to 5-3. Whatever was happening with Krejčíková caused her to break down in tears after the game. The crowd reacted as it should have, in full support of a player seemingly struggling emotionally and physically. Somehow, the Czech managed to hold.
Leading 5-4, Navarro hit three solid serves to begin the game to take a 40-love lead. She would finish off the game to take the final set 6-4.
Navarro will next face Mirra Andreeva, having an ascending season in 2025, in the fourth round of Wimbledon on Monday. The Russian will likely be a slight favorite over the American.