Emma Navarro Shocks Coco Gauff at Wimbledon 2024, Reaches First Grand Slam Quarterfinal

In the middle of an incredible season, the 19th-seeded American has already defeated former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka on her way to winning a second straight Grand Slam second round. On Center Court, Navarro defeated the defending US Open winner in one hour and fourteen minutes after falling down early.

Through the first week, Gauff had quickly overcome her draw, dropping just 10 games in three matches against Caroline Dolehide, Anca Todoni, and Sonay Kartal of Great Britain. In the latter, Gauff won the last eight games to make it to the All England Club’s fourth round for the first time since her breakthrough performance in 2019 as a teenager.

Following her historic defeat in the first round of Wimbledon last year, the American enjoyed a career-best run of results that included her first major title and a remarkable level of consistency on the Grand Slam circuit, with three straight appearances in the semifinals or better.

Merely three years senior to Gauff, Navarro witnessed a significant portion of her compatriot’s ascent from the collegiate ranks, having triumphed in the NCAA Singles Championship in 2021 while representing the University of Virginia. Last year, she started to really pursue a career in professional cycling after taking home two ITF 100K titles and finishing inside the Top 40.

She only kept getting better in 2024, winning against Aryna Sabalenka, who was ranked second at the time, to reach her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal at the BNP Paribas Open. She also secured a spot on the American Olympic team by making it to the fourth round at Roland Garros.

Navarro, who was participating in her second Wimbledon main draw, navigated a challenging field in the opening week, eliminating Wang Qiang, the former No. 12, before easily dispatching Osaka in straight sets. She secured her second meeting of the season with Gauff by ending the seven-match winning streak of Bad Homburg Open champion Diana Shnaider.

When Navarro and her fellow American played at the ASB Classic in January, Navarro lost in straight sets. However, in their third meeting on Center, Navarro showed that she was more accustomed to the indoor grass conditions, coming out on top after a break exchange and breaking Gauff twice to seal the first set.

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Her more volatile forehand wing made a lot of mistakes in the second set, giving Navarro the opportunity to serve out the match, which infuriated Gauff more and more.

Navarro persisted and pushed the 20-year-old to make one final forehand blunder despite Gauff saving two match points. At the net, the friend from childhood hugged her.

Navarro ultimately displayed far more consistent play, committing 16 unforced errors to only 25 for Gauff, who was serving at just 56% for the duration of the match.

After the fortnight, Navarro, who is expected to make his Top 15 debut, will take on No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini. Paolini and Madison Keys were level 5-5 in the last set before the American had to retire with a left leg injury.