AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 14, 2025

Emma Navarro

Press Conference

E. NAVARRO/P. Stearns

6-7, 7-6, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Can you talk us through the match a little bit.

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, one of the more unique matches I've played in a while, I think. Definitely did not have my best stuff today. Yeah, it was just relying a lot, I guess, on my grit and toughness and fight.

I think, yeah, she had a lot of moments there where she could have maybe closed it out or run away with it. I just tried to stay really tough.

Like I said in the interview on court after the match, I just kept telling myself there at the end, Make the most of the skills I have today. I think maybe that's something that kind of clicked there for me at the end.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I wanted to ask generally about your journey and coming to it maybe later than some players and just the benefits you feel you had of that journey?

EMMA NAVARRO: I think it was really important for me to kind of take my time and do things on my own timeline and gain that just experience. I definitely wasn't ready to take the jump to join the pro tour after high school. I definitely needed a couple of more years and felt likes UVA was the place to do it.

I think I grew a lot just maturity-wise on court, off court, kind of all-around. I definitely needed a couple of years to feel 100% ready and committed to being a pro player. Yeah, college was kind of a great pathway to do that.

Q. Was part of that because of an awareness even at that young age of how tough and demanding the tour was going to be?

EMMA NAVARRO: I knew that if I was going to go pro, I wanted to be 100% committed. I knew that anything less than that wasn't going to be enough, and I wouldn't have the experience that I would like to have.

Yeah, I just wanted to be all-in when I took that jump and definitely wasn't ready coming out of high school.

Q. Can I just ask you about just mentioning college, the coaches being on the court, is that sort of familiar to you because you've been through that and that's sort of where they are when you are playing college matches?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, I guess. I don't know. It was similar to how other matches feel where they're sitting just a little bit higher, but also, yeah, a little bit different.

Probably felt more different when I was on the side where her coaches were just because it feels like we're so close. Sometimes they would be hollering over at her from the far side. So that was a little bit different.

But, yeah, I kind of liked it. I think, you know, my coach and I were able to interact a little bit more comfortably and a little bit more often, I guess.

Q. You like interacting during the matches with your coach?

EMMA NAVARRO: Depends on the match, I think. One of the things I love about tennis is the problem-solving part of it. I think my ability to solve problems in the moment on my own are something that make me a really good player, and I don't have to rely on somebody to tell me what's going on. I feel like I have a pretty good handle on what's going on in a match.

But, yeah, other days I feel like I need something more from the sidelines. Maybe today was one of those days where I just didn't feel like 100% comfortable on court, and I needed, yeah, just a little reassurance, I guess.

Q. Obviously playing a match like that is not convenient, but do you think is it good to get tested early to know what's coming and it's going to get tougher?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, for sure. I think those are some of the most rewarding matches and some of the matches where you learn the most about yourself and about your game. So I think it's definitely super valuable to have those early in the tournament.

Yeah, I'll definitely take some confidence from today going into my next round.

Q. I know tennis is an individual sport, but there's 17 Americans in action today. I just wonder if you are close with any of the men or if you are in a group chat with any men or the women?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, I've gotten to know a lot of the American players over the past year or so. I just saw Maddie in the locker room, and we were kind of laughing about how long I was on court, and she's waiting to play. Yeah, I've gotten to know Jess a bit and Coco.

Yeah, it's really cool to kind of have that camaraderie with my fellow Americans and cheer each other on. You know, it's great to see their success, and it's fun to sort of feel that patriotism on tour.

Q. Just in terms of decompressing, I guess, in the off-season after an incredible season, what were the key things that kind of once you had time and distance away from the tennis you played last year that you kind of focused in on of what last year meant to you, and what are some of the things that, you know, as you start this year you want to bring from 2024 and things that you want to leave in 2024?

EMMA NAVARRO: I think I learned a ton last year. I would say the biggest, or a big thing, that I felt last year was just enjoying playing. And I think when I'm enjoying myself on court is when I play the best. It's when I'm most creative. Yeah, I'm just able to read the game my best. So that's definitely something that I've tried to bring into this year.

Yeah, I think a lot stays the same. Goals are kind of the same. Just try to continue to improve myself and get better every day of practice and every match.

Yeah, I've had some things to work through coming back to match play after, you know, a couple of months away from matches. I kind of really felt like today, if I could get through today, I'll be feeling the best I have so far this year. So hopefully I can take that momentum into next round.

Q. Where do you feel like that gap is right now in terms of the way you want to play your tennis to start the year and then where you're feeling like you're kind of swimming upstream to get there?

EMMA NAVARRO: I think tennis is obviously a super mental sport. There is little cues and tricks you play on your mind during match play that get you into the best place that you want to be in. Those are kind of just things that you don't get to practice when you are practicing.

So just getting back into a rhythm with, yeah, I guess, things you tell yourself.

Q. Speaking of things you tell yourself, how did you reset after that overhead in the third set?

EMMA NAVARRO: I guess there's just, like, kind of no choice. You know, you have to move on. That was, yeah, not my best moment. Yeah, got to move on. I knew obviously I wanted to win the match, and I knew lingering on that wasn't going to serve me any good.

Q. There's no mantra or anything, like it's just one point or...

EMMA NAVARRO: Not specifically.

Q. (Question regarding coming on tour as a teenager.)

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, some of both. I just felt like I just wasn't totally committed to it. I didn't know for sure I wanted to make a career out of tennis. That was probably reflected physically as well. Yeah, just both mentally and physically.