THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 3, 2024

Emma Navarro

Press Conference

E. NAVARRO/N. Osaka

6-4, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Emma, well played today. How were you feeling out on the grass?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, feeling good. Definitely a special experience playing out on Centre Court. I really tried to enjoy it and take it all in and really appreciate the opportunity, also while playing good tennis. I think I was able to do that. So yeah, really amazing and special experience today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How did you prepare yourself for that experience, both to be on Centre Court and to play someone who has won four majors and a very good opponent?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, there was some specific preparation today in terms of just game plan and how I wanted to take it on mentally. But also I think it's been years of preparation that made me able to feel comfortable and feel like physically and mentally I'm able to take that challenge on.

So, yeah, today I wanted to play aggressively and push back against her, especially on her serve, make her think a little and feel uncomfortable in her serve. That was a big thing.

But, yeah, a lot of years in the making.

Q. You must have as a kid watched an awful lot of matches on television from Centre Court at Wimbledon. Are there any that stand out in your mind that, wow, this is where I want to be?

EMMA NAVARRO: Growing up I actually didn't watch that much tennis. My brother watched way more than I did. He would get up at, like, 5:00 in the morning and catch a fifth set of whatever match. Or if they were playing in Australia, he would be up in the middle of the night watching. On occasion I would join him.

But yeah, I really never watched that much tennis growing up except if it was maybe a Grand Slam final.

Yeah, I remember watching Federer and Nadal play. I don't know how many times they played at Wimbledon, but yeah, that's a specific memory I have.

I was actually thinking about that when I was out on the court today, just that I'm playing on a court that Federer and Nadal once played on, and that's pretty cool.

Q. What exactly is your grass court experience? Can you count on a couple of hands how many grass court matches you've played? When was the first time you even stepped on a grass court?

EMMA NAVARRO: First time was prepping for junior Wimbledon. I played somewhere in Pennsylvania. I can't remember. I think it was in ITF grade 4 or something on some really long grass courts. It wasn't even tennis really. It was more like bocce ball or something. That's the first time I remember playing on grass.

Then played junior Wimbledon, made semifinals I think. Then, yeah, my first professional grass court season was last year. Played an ITF 100 K in Ilkley, and then played in Bad Homburg, and then here and lost first round here last year. Then, yeah, this is my second season.

I think grass is really unique. I don't know. It's a different game kind of. I have a lot of fun on it. Yeah, I think you have to play more creative tennis, and I like that.

I like how much of a difference getting one more ball back in the court makes. Maybe it's not the same on other surfaces, but if you can dig out an extra ball or two, it makes a huge difference. Yeah, that's something I really enjoy about it.

Q. Kind of on that train of thought, Emma, I think of you as a really nice classic hard court game. You had that big match at Indian Wells this year. What particularly in your game do you feel like was really suited to grass court today? You obviously served really well and kept the points short nicely, but what do you feel like naturally you're able to kind of emphasize in your game that works well here?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, something that she does really well is obviously she has a really big serve, so I knew that was going to be something that I was going to have to deal with today.

I tried to move my positioning around against first serves. I don't know. Maybe that got in her head a little bit. I wanted to try to make her hit the serve that she doesn't want to hit, and I didn't want her to know where I'm going to be at in terms of positioning. Maybe that helped me as a returner some today.

Then during the rally, just my coach says hit through the ball as if you're hitting through a volleyer, so just keeping the ball lower and through the court, staying grounded. Then, yeah, served well. My serve hasn't always been something that I could hang my hat on, but it's definitely been improving. Yeah, tennis is more fun when you are serving well (laughing).

Q. For people who haven't had the chance to see you much, how would you describe your game, your style of play, and your approach?

EMMA NAVARRO: It's definitely evolving. For a long time I considered myself to be a clay court player just because I think that's the speed that I was most comfortable playing at.

But, yeah, I feel like I'm improving myself into a player that can play at that slower speed and go longer points, but who is also able to play quicker, faster tennis on harder grass.

So, yeah, I think I'm definitely evolving and kind of just trying to always improve all different parts of my game to be able to play at all different speeds and against any type of player.

Q. Even though you're playing on Centre Court for the first time, you seemed completely composed. Have you always been like that even before you played tennis, or did you have a temper when you were young or anything?

EMMA NAVARRO: No, never really had a temper. Maybe I think I was a little bit mean to my siblings sometimes growing up.

Q. Bossy?

EMMA NAVARRO: Not really bossy, but I had a lot of energy as a kid I think, and maybe I took it out on my siblings sometimes. But, yeah, I've always just had a really chilled out demeanor, I guess. So that part comes naturally to me.

Definitely, you know, in this sport you deal with a lot of emotions. It's high stress at times. Yeah, it's emotional, and sometimes the nerves can, yeah, just make you feel big emotions. So it's something that obviously I have to deal with, but I would say kind of that calmness I've always had.

Q. You got Diana Shnaider next, who you have played this year but also with on the doubles court. Can you talk about the challenges of her game and also your friendship and what she's like as a person.

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, she's really funny, and she's a great competitor. Yeah, we had a lot of fun playing doubles together. We played a couple of times in the past few weeks. Once on clay, once on grass last week. She's a really great player. She plays very courageously, and she goes for her shots, which I think is a big part of her game. She'll go for it.

Obviously she's a lefty, which makes it tough. But yeah, I feel just excited for the challenge. Sometimes it's nice to play a player that you've lost to the last time. It maybe takes a little bit of pressure off. So, yeah, I'm excited for the challenge.

Q. You go from clay at Roland Garros, here, unusual year, clay, and then to the hard courts. How are you going to mentally and physically prepare for the hard courts leading up to the US Open?

EMMA NAVARRO: It's something I love about playing tennis and being on the pro tour is things are always changing. It's exciting. Just every week is different. It keeps it interesting I think.

But yeah, I guess just being able to be flexible and getting as much time on a specific surface as you can is really important and trying to get spars in against other players I think makes a big difference.

So, yeah, I'll just train as much as I can after the Olympics on hard court and go from there.

Q. I realized you've had a quick shot up to this high in the rankings, but have you gotten to the point psychologically where this is where I belong, I'm in the final 32 of a Grand Slam? You're 16, right, something like that?

EMMA NAVARRO: Something like that.

Q. Are you at peace with it or comfortable with it or feel like, yeah, this is who I am?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, I think so. Definitely getting more and more comfortable with it. Especially times like today and the experience I had today, it kind of just makes me realize, I guess, that this is where I belong, and I can play at this level.

It did happen quick, but it's not without years and years of preparation and practice and sacrifice, et cetera. So, yeah, definitely feeling the most comfortable now with the position I'm in.