Tennis. Roland-Garros – Emma Navarro: “I would like to come back for the Games but…”

Emma Navarro24th in the world, was soundly beaten in the round of 16 at Roland-Garros by the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, formidable second player in the world (6-2, 6-3). But the American, 5th in her country behind Coco Gauff (3rd), Jessica Pegula (5th), Danielle Collins (10th) and Madison Keys (12th), is far from being guaranteed the Olympic Games since only four players from the United States will be able to compete in the singles…

Find here the Gentlemen’s table for Roland-Garros 2024

Find the Roland-Garros 2024 Ladies table here

Emma, ​​a difficult result, but one of your best Grand Slams so far. Can you tell us about your experience and your thoughts here at Roland Garros?

Yes, I had a wonderful week and a half here in Paris. Obviously it was difficult today, but my opponent was very tough. She had a very good game on the court. So, it wasn’t easy for me, but I did the best I could, I played good tennis; and of course, it’s always a learning experience. I’m gaining experience through this and I’m continuing to move forward to be in a better ranking than where I was at the start before coming here.

Too bad about today. How did you find the experience of being on one of the big courts of a Grand Slam?

Yes, of course, I would have liked a result today, it was a great experience at Central. I had the crowd chanting my name several times during the match and it’s a truly incredible feeling. I feel very good about this experience. This motivates me even more to keep moving forward.

What was the big difference, in your opinion, between your experience of playing it in Indian Wells compared to here – of course the surface was different, the country different, there were a lot of things that were different, but compared to the opponent and in relation to the player you were today when you think about these 2 different matches?

I think she had a really good day, she really deserves a lot of credit. She played excellent tennis. She made almost no mistakes. So, it’s difficult to face that because you can’t afford to make mistakes. That’s what I thought, that’s what I told myself at several points during the match. I think today I couldn’t return his serve as well as I did last time. That was a big thing for me the last time I played it.

If I could have returned better today, I could have entered the match a little earlier. I feel like I served better today than last time, but she was returning very, very well from the baseline. So maybe a combination of me not returning as well as I would have liked and her playing tennis with very few errors.

“There are a lot of Americans who are having good results at the moment”

Do you think you’ll come back for the Olympics?

I would like. There are a lot of American women who are having good results at the moment. So, we’ll see what they do but, yes, I would love to do the Olympics.

To pick up on that, what would it mean for you to make the Olympic Games? Had you thought about it in advance? Why would this be a very exciting moment for you?

It would be amazing for me to be able to play for my country or have the USA on my t-shirt and to be able to play this sport that I love to do for the country that I am proud of; to be very proud of that, it would be an incredible honor to be able to play in the Olympics, but I hadn’t thought about it until this year when I realized that there was a possibility that I would be selected. Since then, I haven’t really thought about it. I didn’t want to give it too much importance because there is a bit of a race for this qualification at the moment, but it would be a very great honor to be able to play in the Olympics.

You talked about your return game against her. Could you describe what makes its service so effective? You are not the first opponent who has difficulty returning her serve. So, I was wondering what his service has that makes things so difficult for you.

There are 2 things. First of all, she has speed, and also kick serves with great effect. I think she hit those shots really well today, especially on her second serve, but also on the advantage side on her first serve. It’s hard to place yourself in relation to that because, ideally, I would like to be a little more inside the court than on its fast serve. So, it’s this combination of these two types of services that makes things difficult to do. She made good kicking second serves and I couldn’t return well enough.

“I can’t wait to get back on grass”

The grass season, how do you feel about this surface and what are your expectations for this tournament?

Last year was my first season on grass, I had a lot of fun on grass. I played better tennis than I thought I would on grass. I can’t wait to get back on this surface, play good tennis again.

If you come back here in a while for the Olympics, there is something unusual going from clay to grass and back to clay. Do you think it will be a challenge? And, if so, what will be the hardest part of changing surfaces so quickly?

Maybe a little challenge, but it’s nothing unusual. When we play on the ITF circuits, like I did last year, we change surfaces all the time. So there aren’t really any seasons. I always feel at home when I come back to a clay court. So, it’s a little challenge but nothing exceptional.

“The best players in the world leave nothing to chance”

You have an extraordinary year in 2024 where you broke through and it’s your best Grand Slam so far in your young career. What do you think is the biggest difference between normal weekly WTA tournaments and a Grand Slam?

Maybe I didn’t know it until today, I had to learn it today, but the best players in the world on a tournament like this, a stage like this, don’t leave nothing to chance. She may have had a great day today, but I felt like she was “racing” me, that maybe it was a different challenge than the last time I played her. I think the best players in the world are able to elevate their game in those important moments and succeed.

I think you have better results in most of the tournaments you play this year compared to last year and you are progressing enormously with an upward curve. Where do you feel about your progress? Are you brand new to all of this and absorbing everything like a sponge or what percentage of the best version of yourself are you?

I don’t know if I can put a percentage, but my coach talks about 6 years; in 6 years, I will be 100%. So, we’ll see if I can get there faster than that, but I learn a lot through experiences. The more experiences I have, the more comfortable I will feel at different times on the court and on different stages. So, I’m still in sponge mode but the sponge is filling little by little and it’s getting wider.

6 years from now or from last year?

I have to check that. That’s a good question (smile).