Defending US Open champion Coco Gauff’s title defense came to an abrupt end on Sunday as she fell to fellow American Emma Navarro in a tense fourth-round match at Flushing Meadows. The 13th-seeded Navarro outplayed the third-seeded Gauff, winning 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in a contest marked by Gauff’s serving woes and unforced errors.
Gauff, who had been hoping to become the first woman to defend the US Open title since Serena Williams in 2014, struggled throughout the match, particularly with her serve. She committed a staggering 19 double faults, including 11 in the decisive third set alone. The final game of the match saw Gauff hit three double faults, effectively handing victory to Navarro.
“I lost in the first round the last two years and now to be making the quarter-finals is pretty insane,” Navarro said after her victory. “This is the city I was born in and it feels so special to be playing here.”
The match was a repeat of their Wimbledon encounter just two months ago, where Navarro had also emerged victorious. Despite Gauff’s determination to maintain focus and avoid “collapsing” mentally as she had in their previous meeting, she committed 60 unforced errors throughout the match, significantly hampering her chances.
Navarro’s victory propels her into her first US Open quarter-final, where she will face 26th seed Paula Badosa of Spain, who earlier defeated China’s Yafan Wang 6-1, 6-2.
The match began with Navarro making a strong start, immediately putting pressure on Gauff’s serve. Though Gauff initially recovered, her serving troubles persisted throughout the first set, which Navarro claimed confidently.
The second set saw a momentum shift as Gauff, backed by a supportive crowd, managed to force a decider. However, the final set proved to be Gauff’s undoing, with her serve completely abandoning her at crucial moments.
Navarro, showing composure beyond her years, capitalized on Gauff’s errors to secure the crucial break in the third set. She maintained her advantage, ultimately closing out the match on Gauff’s error-strewn final service game.
This victory marks another milestone in Navarro’s rapidly ascending career. The 23-year-old, a former college standout, won her maiden WTA Tour title in Hobart earlier this year and has now reached back-to-back Grand Slam quarter-finals.
“When I first left college, my coach and I kind of made a two-year contract that I would fully commit myself to playing professional tennis for two years and then reassess after that,” Navarro revealed in a recent interview. “I think I hit the two-year mark this June, and we didn’t even acknowledge it or talk about it. I definitely have surpassed my expectations for sure.”
As Navarro continues her impressive run at the US Open, she is set to break into the world’s top 10 rankings. Meanwhile, Gauff will need to regroup and address her serving issues as she looks ahead to the remainder of the tennis season and beyond.
