She won her first career title at the Hobart International, with Navarro beating two-time champion Elise Mertens in the January final.

Navarro finished 2024 ranked eighth, but now has every chance of climbing those standings as soon as next month.

Her focus will be on impressing at the Australian Open, having exited in the third round in 2024 on her tournament debut.

Andrea Petkovic thinks she knows why Emma Navarro keeps beating Coco Gauff

But her Grand Slam results impressed as the year went on, culminating in a semi-final finish at the US Open.

That superb run was ended by eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka, with Rennae Stubbs and Andrea Petkovic having both been left very impressed by Navarro.

“She has got everything,” Stubbs said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. “She is sort of like Jasmine Paolini.

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“She is not tall, she has got a beautiful service motion, unbelievable forehand, the forehand down the line has improved so much. Her backhand is great.

“She can slice, she can volley. She moves unbelievably, she is in incredible shape, so you can’t tell me that she can’t make finals.”

Petkovic then stated: “I think she is just a bit behind the best five players in the world right now, but I definitely see her making the quarters. Her biggest strength is that she reads energies of the game, that’s why she keeps beating Coco Gauff.

“It’s like a predator in the woods, she smells the nervousness on the other side. It was the same against Paula [Badosa], 5-1 and then Emma just didn’t miss a ball, and back to 5-5.”

What is the head-to-head record between Emma Navarro and Coco Gauff?

Navarro has only met Gauff on three occasions throughout their WTA Tour careers, with all three matches coming this year.

The latter, who is third in the rankings, won the first via a commanding 6-3, 6-1 success in their Auckland semi-final.

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But Navarro turned their rivalry on its head when it mattered, defeating Gauff in the fourth rounds of both Wimbledon and the US Open.

While both impressive, the second victory undoubtedly caught the eye more given how Gauff was the defending champion in New York.

It was, however, the current world number three who had the last laugh, with Gauff going on to win the WTA Finals in Riyadh, an event which Navarro failed to qualify for.

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