Emma Navarro’s Quest for Perfection, And How It Helps Her Thrive

By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday September 3, 2024

New York—What does perfection look like for Emma Navarro? Her longtime coach, Peter Ayers answered that question on Tuesday in New York.

Ayers, who has worked with Navarro since her junior days, says perfection isn’t a shot or a ranking – it’s a mindset.

“One of the first times that we sat down together, you know, going back to when she was 14 years old, and we alluded to this,” he said. “So you’re a perfectionist, most high achievers are, and it’s a good quality if it’s applied in a healthy, sustainable way.

“So I said, here’s what I want you to strive to be perfect at. I want you to strive to be perfect at bouncing back. Stuff’s going to happen. You’re competing in tennis, like, there’s going to be adversity every time you play.”

We’ve seen that bounce back mentality from Navarro here at the US Open. She went on walkabout and dropped the middle set to Coco Gauff during her fourth-round battle with the defending champ. Rather than hang her head she held it high and reset to play a solid third set that got her the victory.

Ayers says that adversity is welcome in Team Navarro. It’s not the end of the world, it’s an opportunity to bounce back.

“When something adverse happens, something negative happens, you get a bad line call or you break a string or the sun is in your eyes, whatever, revel in, ‘Oh, this is great. You know, this is an opportunity to bounce back,’” he said.

Navarro has been a perfect pupil for Ayers, embracing the mentality to, well, perfection.

“I think it’s easy to be tough when you’re playing great tennis and everything’s working well, and you’re hitting all your shots well and things are just going smooth, but I think toughness is when you can continue to go after your shots and play aggressive tennis when some doubt creeps in and when you’re not 100 percent sure about just certain shots or how you’re playing,” she said.

Navarro, who will play her maiden major semifinal in her eighth major appearance, had never won a main draw match at the US Open prior to this year.

She rallied from 5-1 down in the second set on Tuesday to take out Paula Badosa, 6-2, 7-5.

“I think it’s the ability to not get discouraged by things not going your way or by you making mistakes,” she said. “You know, you’re just kind of just unfazed by the things that are happening out there, and just the ability to keep coming point after point, game after game and never hitting that limit of, you know, I’ve missed X amount of this specific shot and I just can’t take it anymore.

“Just not letting that happen.”