Emma Navarro wins first WTA title in Hobart

After a standout 2023 season that saw her rise from world No. 149 to No. 31, Emma Navarro has hit new heights early this year. The 22-year-old American reached the Auckland semifinals last week, losing to eventual champion Coco Gauff, and has now gone all the way in Hobart.

Less than two years after winning the 2021 NCAA Championships singles title as a University of Virginia star, the Charleston native is a WTA champion for the first time.

"I don’t know if I could put words to the emotions, but it’s been a lot of years in the making," the second-seeded Navarro said after her triumph. "My coach [Peter Ayers] and I have been together for eight years, I think. From where we started to now, it’s really crazy to think about.

"Probably six, seven years ago, I was hoping to be a decent college player, and that was going to be good enough for me. So to be here now, it’s really crazy, and just a testament to the work we’ve both put in."

Navarro's Hobart run included three three-set wins in five matches, capped with a 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 final victory against top seed Elise Mertens. The American led for much of the second set in the final, but was forced to a decider after former world No. 12 Mertens, a two-time Hobart champ, surged late in the frame.