Emma Navarro Kicks Off 2025 US Open Campaign

New York, August 24, 2025 (AP) – Tenth-seeded American Emma Navarro began her U.S. Open on Sunday. She took the court at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center to face China’s Yafan Wang in the first round. Navarro, a semifinalist in 2024, is set to play Wang at 4:50 PM ET. This hard-court match starts her journey for another Grand Slam semifinal.

Navarro, 24, comes to Flushing Meadows in great shape. She won the Mérida title in February and made it to the quarterfinals in Charleston, Strasbourg, and Bad Homburg earlier this season. Even with early exits in Montreal, Cincinnati, and Monterrey—where she lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to Alycia Parks—she’s still the favorite against Wang. Wang made it through qualifiers and reached the round of 16 in Cleveland last week.

Sunday’s match will be Navarro’s fourth US Open appearance in the main draw. A former NCAA champion at Virginia, she stunned defending champion Aryna Sabalenka en route to the 2024 semifinals and climbed to a career-high world No. 8 last September. Wang, making her sixth US Open main-draw showing, is ranked No. 170 and seeks her first win on Grand Slam soil since 2021.

Play on Grandstand features key matches on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Defending champion Coco Gauff and other top seeds will also compete. Live coverage of Navarro vs. Wang is available in the U.S. on ESPN and ESPN+.