Are you ready for the All-American clash in Bad Homburg? Emma Navarro is all set to take on her compatriot Peyton Stearns in a thrilling second-round (R16) clash at the 2024 Bad Homburg Open. Both of these players have already clinched a title this season, but in the last few tournaments, they have failed to find any sort of consistency. They have played against each other quite a few times now. Who is most likely to have the upper hand in this enticing encounter?

This year has been very special to Navarro. She won her maiden WTA Tour Title at the 2024 Hobart International. She also reached her career-high ranking of 17, currently ranked 19th. On the other hand, Peyton Stearns was ranked 43 in the world last year, but now she has dropped to 59 in the women’s singles ranking. This will be the first time they will meet on this surface (grass), and this is what makes this contest more interesting.

Emma Navarro vs Peyton Stearns: Preview

So far, apart from winning the title in Hobart, Emma Navarro has reached one final, two SFs, and two QFs. In her previous match here, she defeated Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian by 6-3,6-1. She landed three aces and committed just one double fault. She won 79% of her first-serve and 46% of her second-serve but could only manage to convert five out of eight breakpoints.

If we take a glimpse at her stats from the 2024 season, Navarro has hit 47 aces and committed almost 71 double faults. Emma Navarro has won 67.9% of her service games and just around 41% of her return games.

Her opponent, Peyton Stearns won a title at the Morocco Open this year, and has reached two QFs. She is also entering this contest after her emphatic victory over Germany’s Julia Stusek in the R32 of this tournament. Stearns defeated her by 6-2, 7-5, hitting three aces and one double fault. Her first-serve win percentage was 82%, but for the second-serve, it was 80%. Stearns converted three out of her seven breakpoints against Stusek.

The double fault count for Stearns is also quite higher than her number of aces. She has hit 45 aces so far this season and has committed 74 double faults. Stearns has won 60.7% of her service games and 40.4% of her return games this year.

Navarro vs Stearns: Head-to-Head

Emma Navarro currently leads the H2H scoreline by a 3-1 margin. However, it was Peyton Stearns who had the upper hand in their very first encounter at the QF of the 2019 ITF USA 40A. She defeated Navarro in a three-set thriller, but after that, it became ‘The Navarro Show’. Emma Navarro won their last faceoff at the final of the 2023 ITF USA 13A by 2-6,6-2,7-5. Looking at the numbers from that match, she hit three aces and committed seven double faults, whereas Peyton Stearns failed to hit even a single ace but committed three double faults.

Stearns won 56% of her first serve and 57% of her second serve, while it was 68% and 56%, respectively, for Navarro. Even in the breakpoints, Navarro was 5/9 compared to Stearns’ 4/11. Do these numbers give any indications about who’s leading the race in this enticing All-American clash?

Prediction: Navarro to win in three sets yet again

Emma Navarro is in better form this year; she has a win-loss record of 33-14 compared to Peyton Stearns’ 14-13 record. Navarro even reached the SF here last year, but this will be the first time that Stearns will be competing in this tournament. Looking at all the stats and their current form, the Charleston resident looks slightly ahead of the Cincinnati-based tennis star!

Peyton Stearns comes up with a powerful brand of tennis, and she loves to swing her racquets freely, generating some real venom in her shots. On the other hand, Navarro has a more compact style of play. She has strong groundstrokes in her armory and often engages in the baseline exchanges. She picks the right moment to go forward and seal the deal at the net. Stearns needs to be in her A-game right from the word go to stand a chance in that match. However, Navarro seems to be the favorite in this match!