CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Virginia women’s tennis Class of ’22 alum Emma Navarro has advanced to the semifinals at the 2024 US Open in Flushing, New York, and plays for a spot in the final Thursday. A UVA Athletics release points out Navarro is just the second former collegiate tennis player since 1990 to reach the U.S. Open semifinals, joining Jennifer Brady. 13th-seed Navarro won her first set over 26th-seed Paula Badosa 6-2, but fell behind in the 2nd set 5-1 before winning 6 straight games to win the set and claim the straight-set match victory.
This is Navarro’s first time advancing to the semifinals at a Grand Slam, though she’s coming off a previous personal best Grand Slam quarterfinal finish at Wimbledon. She will face No. 2-seed Aryna Sabalenka Thursday (Sept. 5) playing for a place in the finals. Sabalenka cruised to a straight set win Tuesday over 7th-seed and Paris Olympics gold medalist Qinwen Zheng 6-1, 6-2, and has only lost 3 of 36 sets played in Grand Slam tournaments this year.
Click here for UVA’s release on Navarro’s victory.
