Emma Navarro advances to second round at MUSC Health Women’s Open

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

For the second straight week, Virginia women’s tennis freshman Emma Navarro has advanced to the second round of a WTA event after picking up a win in the opening round of singles at the MUSC Health Women’s Open being held April 12-18 in Charleston, S.C.

Navarro (Charleston, S.C.) picked up her first win over a top-100 opponent, facing No. 96 Tereza Martincova of the Czech Republic. Navarro won the first set 6-4 and held a 3-2 advantage in the second set when Martincova retired.

This is the first year of this WTA 250 level event being held at the Family Circle Tennis Center on Daniel Island, the same location as last week’s Volvo Car Open. The tournament will be covered by the Tennis Channel and Tennis Channel Plus.

Navarro will face either four-seed Alizé Cornet of France (ranked No. 59) or Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic in the Round of 16.

Navarro is also competing in doubles, partnering with Sophie Chang. In an all-American battle, they will be facing Hailey Baptiste and Catherine McNally in the first round on Wednesday as the third match on Court One.

Navarro, who began her collegiate career by winning her first 14 NCAA singles matches and has moved up to a No. 6 ITA ranking, holds a world WTA ranking of 404 in singles and 420 in doubles. The Charleston native finished 2019 ranked the No. 3 juniors player in the world, from a season that included a semifinals finish at the 2019 Junior Wimbledon Championships, a finals berth at the 2019 French Open Junior Championships and the singles title at the 2019 Adidas Easter Bowl. In 2018, Navarro won the 18 singles and doubles titles at the USTA National Clay Court Championships. She picked up her first WTA tournament-level match win in singles at last week’s Volvo Car Open WTA 500 event, also advancing to the quarterfinals in doubles.