Interview: Emma Navarro – 3R (lost to Sloane Stephens 3-6 7-5 1-6)

April 4, 2024

Round of 16 – Emma Navarro (USA) lost to Jaqueline Cristian (ROU) 3-6 7-5 1-6

MODERATOR: Okay. We’ll go ahead and get started with Emma Navarro. Emma, a tough one out there today, but you really battled hard. Can you just give us your thoughts on the conditions and the match as a whole?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, definitely not a great performance from my end. Obviously, it was windy, tough conditions for sure. And credit to her, she played a great match, but, yeah, definitely didn’t serve well, didn’t hit my forehand well, didn’t hit my backhand well. So, yeah, not my best today.

MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Emma, you seemed to show a little more frustration maybe than usual with your hands up. Was that unhappiness with yourself, with the conditions? Everything? Both?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, myself. Conditions are what they are. We’re both dealing with the same conditions, we’re playing on the same court. So, yeah, just frustration that I wasn’t able to find my game, and felt like I had some chances there to turn the match around and wasn’t able to convert. So, yeah, just — that’s frustrating.

Q. Hopefully you’ll have many years to play this tournament. Do you feel like it’s going to be a learning curve, a journey? Is it different than other places?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, it’s definitely different. Playing at home there’s more pressure, for sure, but also just more support, and with that support I want to perform at my best, and I want to win in front of the hometown crowd. And hearing people chant my name is pretty special.

So, yeah, I’d like to play my best for them. So tough that I wasn’t able to do that today, but I am looking forward to next year already. Hopefully I’ll be able to come back out and play some better tennis. Q. Moving on, Emma, what do you have planned for the red clay season?

EMMA NAVARRO: I’m going to go play Billie Jean King Cup first, and then go over — I’m not exactly sure when, but Stuttgart is first, and then Madrid, Rome.

Q. All of it.

EMMA NAVARRO: Yes. Everything.

Q. Are you looking forward to that?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, definitely. Especially after having a match like today, I’m always looking forward to the next time I can get out on the court and do some things better than I did today. So, yeah, really looking forward to a good start to the summer on clay.

Q. You mentioned the Billie Jean King Cup. Is this your first time playing for Team USA?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yes.

Q. How do you feel about it?

EMMA NAVARRO: Really excited. It’s an honor to be able to play for the U.S. with a group of girls that I’ve looked up to for a while
and that I respect as players and as people, and we have Lindsay Davenport leading our team. So, yeah, really great group this year.

Q. (No microphone – Question re: Olympics).

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah. Again, it would be unbelievable to play for the United States and call myself an Olympian. That’s the kind of thing that you dream about as a kid. So, yeah, I would be super grateful for that opportunity.