Mumbai: Last week, when Emma Navarro won her first match of this US Open, the usually listless American, ranked 12th in the world, had a fleeting moment of reflection. “12th place – that’s knocking on the door of the top 10. It’s pretty crazy to think about.”

Pretty crazy that she’s in the top 10 next week after being ranked 149th at the start of last year. Pretty crazy that she’s in the quarterfinals after not winning a US Open main draw match in previous years. Pretty crazy that the New York native knocked out defending champion and world number three Coco Gauff in the fourth round 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in her first ever appearance at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Amidst the many Americans making waves on and off the court at their home Slam tournament – ​​Gauff, Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Jessica Pegula – Navarro has quietly remained under the radar.

Not anymore. Certainly not after the season the 23-year-old has played. Navarro has reached two Grand Slam quarterfinals in a row after never getting past the second round last year, won her first WTA title and beaten three top-10 players (and a certain Naomi Osaka at Wimbledon). Two of those were against Gauff, her younger compatriot and teammate at the Paris Olympics, who also sent Navarro home at the same stage at Wimbledon.

Gauff, who won Wimbledon at 15 and won the US Open at 19, and Navarro, who played college tennis until a few years ago, have had different career paths. For one thing, Navarro – whose background is similar to Pegula’s – is the daughter of billionaire businessman Ben Navarro, the founder of one of the largest financial groups in the US, whose net worth is estimated at $1.5 billion according to Forbes. His Sherman Financial Group owns Credit One Bank, which sponsors the Charleston Open, a WTA 500 clay-court tournament on the tour, where Navarro took home $11,190 in prize money this year after being eliminated in the round of 16.

Navarro has put in a lot of work during her tennis career. The Charleston-raised 2019 Wimbledon junior singles semifinalist started her college career at the University of Virginia, where she won her first of 14 NCAA singles matches. She became the 2021 NCAA singles champion and continued to fight her way through the ITF tour until last year.

When she left college to compete full-time on the professional tour, she and her coach signed a two-year contract to see where she would go and take stock afterward.

“In June (of this year) I hit the two-year mark and we didn’t even acknowledge it or talk about it,” Navarro said after her victory over Gauff.

“I definitely exceeded some expectations.”

A lot and more in an outstanding season. Navarro started the year ranked 31st after collecting a lot of tournaments and match wins in 2023, and won her first WTA title in Hobart in January. In March, she surprised No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in Indian Wells before reaching the round of 16 at the French Open. Wimbledon and her victories over Osaka and Gauff underlined her leaps and bounds. Only world number one Iga Swiatek has more match wins on the tour this year than Navarro (45 before the US Open).

“I think I’m totally different, definitely as a player,” she said, comparing the Navarro of 2023 and 2024. “I play more aggressively. Every part of my game has improved. I just play with more confidence and more belief… Partly because the players I play against, if I don’t make that more confident, more aggressive decision, they shut it down. I think I have more confidence in myself to be able to make those types of shots.”

Navarro is 1.70 m tall and her presence and play on the court are not overwhelming, but wonderfully efficient. She has a fluid serve, covers every angle with her athletic movements on the court and can strike the ball threateningly. And she can do that from both wings. At the baseline or at the net.

Gauff described her as an “all-round player.” She has experienced this twice now. Gauff didn’t help herself on Sunday by making 19 double faults, but Navarro remained solid and continued to deal with her opponent’s weak serves and weak forehand returns even after a misfire in the second set.

Navarro isn’t particularly animated on the court, either, which sets her apart from most other U.S. pros. She doesn’t chatter to her coaching box between points and barely makes eye contact. She barely shows any emotion after winning or losing points, games or sets. “Pretty much the opposite of who she is” off the court, Gauff found.

“There’s a lot of passion and emotion out there that I don’t show,” Navarro said. “But I definitely feel it.”

She also feels like she belongs here now. Among the best in women’s tennis. Among the last eight who are in the running for a Grand Slam.

“I believe I can compete with the best players in the world,” she said. “I deserve to be on this stage. I belong in these rounds of the Grand Slams and I can go far.”