Cavaliers Now

Emma Navarro Beats Coco Gauff Again, Advances to U.S. Open Quarterfinals

Matt Newton

In her debut at Arthur Ashe Stadium, former Virginia tennis star Emma Navarro defeated No. 3 seed Coco Gauff to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2024 U.S. Open.
In her debut at Arthur Ashe Stadium, former Virginia tennis star Emma Navarro defeated No. 3 seed Coco Gauff to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2024 U.S. Open. / Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Less than two months after their last matchup at a major championship, former Virginia tennis star Emma Navarro faced her Olympic teammate and defending U.S. Open Champion Coco Gauff in the fourth round of the U.S. Open.

The outcome was the same as when these two young American stars battled in Wimbledon, another breakthrough victory for Navarro to continue what has been an incredible 2024 season.

Navarro, the No. 13 seed in the women's singles draw, defeated the No. 3 seed Gauff 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals of the U.S Open on Sunday night at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows.

In her first-ever match at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Navarro played fundamentally sound tennis against the reigning champ and World No. 3 Coco Gauff, who was off her game from start to finish, committed 60 unforced errors and 19 double faults, 11 of which came in the deciding third set.

After Navarro took the first set in commanding fashion, Gauff battled back to take the second set, but then began to lose her composure again. Navarro, meanwhile, was steady, landing her first serve 66% of the time (46% for Gauff) and registering 20 winners to just 14 for Gauff. The double faults persisted for Gauff late in the third set and Navarro ultimately seized the opportunity to put herself in the quarterfinals at a second-straight major and become the first NCAA Women's Singles Champion to reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open.

The year 2024 has seen Navarro win her first WTA title in Hobart, take down the world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka at Indian Wells, reach the fourth round at the French Open and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, qualify for the U.S. Olympic Tennis Team, and now reach the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open.

In the quarterfinals, Navarro will face No. 26 seed Paula Badosa of Spain on Tuesday (match time TBD).

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.