Emma Navarro has found herself in familiar territory - a third set - at Australian Open 2025.
All three of her outings so far, against Peyton Stearns, Wang Xiyu and Ons Jabeur, have gone the distance.
MORE: All the results from AO 2025
Delving deeper, the No.8 seed looked in particularly dire straits against Stearns and Wang, trailing 5-3 and 4-2, respectively, in the final set.
As Navarro emerged to become one of last year’s breakout players on the WTA Tour, the native of Charleston, South Carolina saw plenty of those final sets - and won most of them.
Since 2024, 41.9 per cent of her matches have gone all the way - the highest percentage of any player in the Top 10.
When it was suggested to her by a reporter that she loved going three sets, she replied “I do” with a smile before elaborating.
“I work really hard on my fitness, on my ability to go the distance and stick in there for as long as it takes,” she said.
“I always tell myself that before I go out on the court, ‘Don't be afraid to stay out there for as long as it takes.’ I'm really not afraid to go two, three hours, whatever it may be. Of course I'd rather win in two.
“I kind of love the grind of three sets.”
As she gets older, that could change, but for now, Navarro enjoys and thrives in extended contests.
Not so familiar for Navarro is now being the ranking favourite in most of her matches - the hunter rather than the hunted, as the expression goes.
It’s part of the reason players struggle to back up the sort of rise Navarro experienced in 2024.
Yes, Navarro catapulted from outside the Top 100 to about No.30 in 2023, but last year she truly exploded after beating Coco Gauff to make the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and then down her Olympic teammate again at the US Open in the city where she was born.
Handling the newfound pressure that comes with a huge ranking spike can be problematic.
Fellow players benefiting from knowing more, trying to defend points and continuous travel are other factors that can contribute to a so-called 'sophomore slump'.
And indeed, eyebrows had to be raised when Navarro lost her opening match at the Brisbane International this month to wildcard Kimberly Birrell as the second seed, then fell as the second seed again in the quarterfinals of the Adelaide International to Liudmila Samsonova.
Both, by the way, were in straight sets, not her favoured three.
Navarro, though, wasn’t too fussed.
“I think something about me is I'm not really one to panic,” she said. “I trust myself. I trust my coach and the rest of my team, even if I have a few matches that don't go my way.
“Even after Adelaide, I was feeling super positive about the path I was on. Even though the results didn't show that, I felt like I was capable of playing the best tennis I've ever played. I still feel like that.
“I think I'm working myself towards that. So, no panic. Just everything is part of the journey.”
Her on-court demeanour resembles men’s world No.1 Jannik Sinner. She rarely appears flustered and roars of celebration aren’t really her thing.
Their games are different, however.
Sinner continually seeks to attack from the back of the court. Navarro - while looking to become more aggressive, she said — isn’t fazed by playing patient tennis from the back of the court.
So, it makes her fourth-round match against Daria Kasatkina on Monday even more compelling. Kasatkina, like Navarro, covers the court with aplomb and counter punches brilliantly.
If Navarro might be the more proactive from the baseline, more drop shots might come from the racquet of world No. 10 Kasatkina.
They both made the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the first time to complete their collection of second-week berths at Grand Slams.
“I think just playing with a lot of patience and just being confident in doing what I do best will be two important things,” Navarro said.
Unlike Navarro, Kasatkina hasn’t dropped a set through three rounds.
“I can say that we've got some similarities in our game. Also, in terms of game style, like to keep the ball in, moving, running, yes, spin, all this,” Kasatkina said. “So I don't know what to expect. We practised just once.
“I think she's a nice girl. I'm going to be very happy to share the court with her in the fourth round of the Australian Open. First time for me, which I'm very happy about.”
No matter the end result in Melbourne, Navarro vows to keep working hard at the game she adores.
“I've always been on this path of continually trying to improve myself,” she said. “There will probably always be things I can get better at, and it's part of the reason why I love tennis so much.”