“She’s 92, and she’s awake watching at home,” Emma Navarro said after beating Elina Svitolina in 2024 Indian Wells’ R32. After pulling a major upset over Coco Gauff, Emma Navarro continued her impressive season at the US Open, reaching her first grand slam semi-final with a victory over Paula Badosa. Like Emma’s parents, Ben and Kelly, there’s a 92-year-old fan who doesn’t leave a chance to watch Navarro on TV. No matter, at home or in stands. 

Since childhood, Emma Navarro’s idol was her grandmother, whom she hailed as the “epitome of a strong woman,” with a caring nature. Earlier this year, the 23-year-old confessed how, irrespective of her age, her grandmother’s positivity, love for sports, and energetic presence illuminated every room she walked into. Traveling from Mystic Connecticut, Navarro’s grandmother made it to her matches in the U.S. Open too, along with her uncle and aunt!

During her post-match press conference with the US Open Tennis Championships, a reporter asked her, “Is she able to come here at all?…How you guys are communicating and how you’re seeing her throughout this run?” 

“Ya, my aunt and uncle have been driving up here for every match and bringing up her with them. And I think it was after my second or third round, they drove your, watched my match, drawback home. They got home at like 10 pm. And then they re-watched my match. So yeah, she’s insane, but it’s awesome to have her support,” Navarro stated.

The former World No. 12 further explained how she “screamed” her name to grab her attention when she entered the court for a second-round match with Arantxa Rus (which she won in straight sets). “And my mom said Grammy’s the only person that could get away with doing that, so yeah, she is awesome and it’s been great to have her.”

Her grandmother is the first person she texts after a match, be it a victory or a loss. And in response, she gets a text signed “Love Gram,” at the end that never stops amusing Navarro, who already knows who’s texting. Furthermore, her grandmother, who watched her play till 4 am in the Australian Open, had tears in her eyes when Navarro gave a special shout-out to her after her Indian Wells second-round victory. 

And after winning the next match in that tournament, Emma Navarro continued expressing her gratitude to her, saying, “Happy she could watch my match at a normal hour. Thanks for watching again, Gram.” However, besides her grandmother, Navarro also said some special words to another person in her family after her quarterfinal victory in New York against Paula Badosa. 

Emma Navarro’s special tribute to her father after her US Open match!

Emma Navarro’s father, Ben, who wanted tennis to be a “family sport,” has been a constant source of support for the 2021 NCAA singles champion. Even when Navarro made her WTA Tour debut in the Charleston Open, a tournament owned by her father, talking about it almost made him teary-eyed. Now that Navarro has reached the semifinals, she couldn’t help but say, “I wanna also thank my dad. I think he saw a vision from the time I was really young.”

“He knew maybe I was a bit ADHD or something to be a sitting in a classroom or a 9 to 5. He saw something in me from a young age. So thanks dad for sending me on this journey,” the Charleston-based player further added.

Emma Navarro’s father, who helped her change her mindset on how to play tennis and how to keep her humorous side alive, is there for her just like her grandmother, whose wisdom, love, and light will continue to guide her in life!