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28 CAVALIER CORNER T he upcoming season marks the 50th an- niversary of Virginia women's tennis. This will be the third of several Wahoo women's programs that will reach this anniversary mile- stone over the next five years, and we look forward to celebrating them in March 2024. Emma Navarro, a team member during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, was destined to be a professional tennis player. Her tennis journey began when she moved to Charleston, S.C., at age 3. Navarro's dad wanted to ensure that she and her siblings lived a healthy and active lifestyle and en- couraged them to play sports, which he be- lieved would teach them valuable lessons. Navarro's two older brothers already played tennis when she started playing, and by the time her younger sister picked up the sport, tennis was the preferred family activity, bringing them together in a shared passion to experience almost daily. Navarro has fond memories of traveling to and playing in the same tournaments with her brother who was just a year and a half older. Their shared love of tennis forged a special sibling relationship, keeping them close during those years. Both older broth- ers stopped playing tennis in high school while Navarro and her sister continued. When Navarro reflects on her childhood inspiration, she credits her dad, business- man Ben Navarro, as being the supportive figure on her tennis journey. He was always the person she could look to for advice and guidance. She still relies on him today to help her maintain a balance between tennis and the rest of her life. During middle school, Navarro found it challenging to find the right balance. She had gone to traditional in-person school almost her whole life but switched to online school in seventh and eighth grades, following what was considered the standard tennis student lifestyle. The goal behind this switch was to make her demanding practice schedule, which included gym sessions, twice-a-day on-court training and a busy travel calendar with weekly tournaments throughout the country, a bit more manageable. After two years, she realized she had lost some of the social aspects of her life. Her parents advised her to go back to taking in-person classes in high school for the next four years, which turned out to be one of the best decisions she made as a teenager. She felt fortunate to attend a school that allowed her to be more flexible with her schedule and was willing to help her work around competitions and the demands of a dedicated practice routine. She also devel- oped lasting friendships with her schoolmates and rediscovered a healthy balance in her life. During her young career, some of her top accomplishments included being a 2019 Australian Open junior doubles finalist, 2019 Roland-Garros junior doubles cham- pion and singles finalist, and 2019 Wimble- don junior singles semifinalist. Deciding to go to UVA was not a linear decision for Navarro. She had originally made a verbal commitment to play for an- other school, but later decided to reconsider her options. A few schools gained her inter- est, but after visiting UVA's Grounds, meet- ing coaches Sara O'Leary and Gina "Pichi" Suarez-Malaguti, and experiencing the at- mosphere and comradery displayed by the team, she knew UVA would be the best fit. As expected, Navarro had a great expe- rience during her two years at UVA. She enjoyed traveling with teammates to away matches and making unforgettable memo- ries. She felt grateful to experience being part of a team and competing for something bigger than herself. Forming close relation- ships with her coaches and teammates was really special to her, and she treasures hav- ing those years to mature as a player before becoming a professional on tour. As Navarro mentally prepared to eventu- ally join the professional tennis world, she worked hard and quickly earned success. During her first year, she won the 2021 NCAA individual national championship, becoming the second player in UVA tennis program his- tory to win the title. She was then faced with the decision to go pro or return to college for another year. Navarro chose the latter. Due to COVID, she had stayed at home during her first semester to complete school online, so she only had the spring semester to soak in the great experiences and she knew she wanted to return for a second year. Navarro's first year showcased impressive titles: All-ACC Academic Team, ITA Atlantic Region Freshman of the Year, All-ACC first team, ACC Freshman of the Year, ITA National Rookie of the Year, finalist for the 2021 Honda Sports Award for Tennis, All-American in doubles and singles, VaSID State Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and All-State first team in doubles and singles, ITA Scholar- Athlete, ACC Academic Honor Roll, first WTA top-100 win at the MUSC Health Women's Open and several ACC Freshman of the Week titles. She finished the year ranked No. 2 in singles and No. 16 in doubles. In addition to competing for UVA, Navarro continued to compete in non-collegiate tour- naments as well in 2021-22. She played in the main singles and doubles draws of the US Open, reached a career-high No. 194 WTA sin- gles ranking and No. 318 in doubles, played in the main draw of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. (WTA 1000), advanced to the second round of the Credit One Charleston Open (WTA 500), reached singles quarterfi- nals of the LTP Women's Open (WTA 125) in Charleston, S.C., competed in qualifying of the Western & Southern Open (WTA 1000) and WTA Chicago Women's Open (WTA 250), played in the doubles main draw of the West- ern & Southern Open (WTA 1000), reached quarterfinals of two ITF World Tennis Tour tournaments in Charleston and Amstelveen, Netherlands, won her first professional singles CONTINUED SUCCESS: WOMEN'S TENNIS STANDOUT EMMA NAVARRO During her first year, Navarro won the 2021 individual national championship, becoming the second player in UVA tennis pro- gram history to win the title. (Photo courtesy UVA)