Emma Navarro: How Did Father Ben Navarro’s Motto Keep Her Away From Professional Tennis for Years?

This Wimbledon, Emma Navarro debuted and took the tennis world by storm! Not only did she defeat Naomi Osaka, but at the same time, her family background left everyone stunned. While she is a billionaire’s daughter, she took some time to get into the sport. There was a time when her father opened up about the decision to get into the pro world after college.

In an interview with Tennis Channel, back in 2019, the father-daughter duo talked about a lot of sporting aspects of Emma’s life. When asked about the big decision of choosing between college and the pro world, Ben Navarro stated, “I’m out of my league of expertise is understating things, so it’s probably a better question for Tracy over here. But, you know, we’ve always viewed this, whether it was a local tournament, a regional tournament or national tournament.”

But no matter how good an athlete is, their true skill is tested against other top players. And after a point, Ben Navarro knew what he had to do for his daughter.

Further, he added, “And now international that you first play, the events that you’re at, you know, you own the level you’re at and once you own that level, it’s time to move on and so l’ve always found. It was pretty obvious when it was time to play a higher level tournament for her. If she wins it a year or two years, it’s time to move on and find other competition, I think. The the biggest piece of advice I could give to anybody from my own experiences.”

Navarro’s tennis career path was greatly influenced by her dad, who advised her to take a more gradual approach rather than entering the professional tour right away. Ben urged her to put school first, stressing the importance of honing her academic and physical abilities.

The American tennis player took this advice to heart and decided to play for the University of Virginia, where she developed as a player and improved her skills. However, while she has made a fine debut at Wimbledon, for the fourth round she will face fellow American and World No. 2 Coco Gauff after defeating former world number one Naomi Osaka in the same run.

Even though it’s her first time in the event, the 23-year-old tennis player is quite calm and collected after entering the second week of Wimbledon.

Emma Navarro believes in creating a ‘cool atmosphere’

Although, there is a strange interplay between winners and losers, Emma Navarro showed exceptional sportsmanship when she defeated Diana Shnaider in the Wimbledon third round. Reaching the net, Navarro pulled her vanquished opponent in for an emotional hug, repeating their exchange from only seven days prior. The same kind hug she’d given Shnaider in their Bad Homburg semifinal, when Navarro had lost.

She stated, “When I have a good relationship with my opponent, I think it just creates a really cool atmosphere where, obviously, we want to beat each other, but we’re out there fighting for the same thing and doing what we love, and it’s positive. We’re putting just positive energy out into the world instead of negative energy.”

Navarro’s admiration for the game and her opponents is demonstrated by this unwavering display of respect, which goes beyond traditional competitive lines. Nevertheless, what are your thoughts on Navarro’s amazing Wimbledon debut? Do let us know in the comment section below.