Emma Navarro wins on grass through movement, consistency and sound decisions rather than raw power, a method that took her to the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2024. Her 2026 swing brought a Nottingham final and a win over Iga Świątek, but she finished 19th in the GTC Grass Rankings with a GTC Grass Rating of 105, down from 108 and 15th before the season.
Grass at a glance
- GTC Grass Rating: 105, 19th in the women’s rankings (15th before the season)
- Pillars: Lawn Form 58, Arsenal 64, Wimbledon 48, Nerve 52
- Nationality: United States
- Best Wimbledon result: Quarter-final (2024)
- Grass titles: None yet (Nottingham runner-up 2026)
- Plays: Right-handed, two-handed backhand
How Emma plays on grass
Navarro is a counter-puncher with good instincts for grass. She moves quickly and stays low, takes the ball early on both sides and redirects pace well, so opponents rarely get the same ball twice. Her forehand carries enough spin to keep rallies safe and enough pace to hurt when she steps in, and she is willing to slice and come forward to vary the pattern.
Her Arsenal score of 64 reflects a complete game without a single standout weapon. The serve is reliable rather than heavy, and against the biggest hitters she has to win long service games instead of free points. On grass that makes her matches long, and many of her 2026 wins went to three sets.
The Nerve score of 52 sits mid-table. She won close matches in Nottingham and beat Świątek in a deciding set, but she also lost a tight Nottingham final and a three-set third-round match at Wimbledon.
Grass record
Navarro’s grass career began in earnest in 2023. She reached the final of the ITF W100 event at Ilkley, losing to Mirjam Björklund, and reached the Bad Homburg semi-finals as an alternate. Her first Wimbledon that year ended in round one.
In 2024 she reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals, beating Wang Qiang, Naomi Osaka, Diana Shnaider and Coco Gauff, the last 6-4, 6-3, before losing to Jasmine Paolini. In 2025 she reached the Bad Homburg quarter-finals and the Wimbledon fourth round.
The 2026 grass season
Her rating was 108 before the swing. At Nottingham, seeded 3rd, she came through three-set wins over Anna Bondar and Yuliia Starodubtseva, then beat qualifier Viktorija Golubic 7-6(5), 6-2 in the semi-finals. Marie Bouzková beat her 6-7(5), 6-4, 2-6 in a final lasting almost three hours. The rating rose to 111.
In Bad Homburg she beat Eva Lys 7-6(6), 6-3 and then top seed Iga Świątek 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, one of the notable results of the women’s grass season, before losing to qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the quarter-finals. The rating reached 113. At Wimbledon she came from a set down to beat Paula Badosa and Oksana Selekhmeteva, then lost to 12th seed Marta Kostyuk in three sets in the third round. That fell short of her 2024 and 2025 results, and the rating dropped from 113 to 105.
Looking ahead to 2027
Navarro’s grass method works, as a Wimbledon quarter-final and a win over Świątek show, but she needs a more reliable source of free points to go deeper. More pace on the first serve and a readier move to the net on short balls would shorten her service games. A first grass title is a fair target, with Nottingham and Bad Homburg the obvious places to try. At Wimbledon a return to the fourth round would restore her rating; a seeding inside the top 16 would help her avoid the leading players before the second week.
