ROLAND GARROS

May 26, 2026

Emma Navarro

Press Conference

E. NAVARRO/J. Tjen

6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Emma, a solid performance today. What were you most pleased about in your match?

EMMA NAVARRO: I came into today a little tired. It was a quick turnaround from last week.

Yeah, I think I'm running a little behind on sleep, but I think I knew today was going to be about perseverance, and that was kind of my word of the day. I just wanted to persevere through any tough moments.

I think I did a pretty good job of that today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Granted the sample size is small, right, since you've come back, but you've won six straight. How far do you feel like you're off from maybe even your peak form last year when you were top 10 in the world? Do you feel like you're getting close again?

EMMA NAVARRO: I think so. It's hard to say, but I feel good physically. I feel good mentally. I think, you know, it's kind of a challenge of putting those two together in the best way you can.

So I feel close, but definitely there's more work to be done.

Q. You're coming off that big win. You just mentioned you'll try to catch up on sleep, whatever. Was there any concern of a letdown coming off such a high of how you ended last week?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, I think it's naturally just in the back of your mind kind of. You don't want to have a big win and then go out first round of a Grand Slam you enjoy playing, but I did it last year. Not coming off a big win, but I lost in the first round of last year, and life goes on.

You keep working, and you come back stronger. So maybe if there's a silver lining to that match last year, it was that, you know, realizing the super scary worst-case scenario, it's going to be okay.

Q. Emma, great to see you back. I'm just wondering, do you think it should be normalized a little bit more, because you're only human beings. Tennis player is a tough job. When you need some time for yourself to step back for a certain period of time, just that it's more like a normal process in this world? And, secondly, how was the support during that time where you struggled a little bit with yourself?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, I definitely think it should be normalized. The tour is really tough, and it's long, and it's arduous, and it takes out of you.

You know, I think fans of the sport, they see us on TV for an hour and a half every few days, and that's kind of all they see of a lot of things that we're doing on and off the court.

So, yeah, there's a ton that goes into trying to be at the highest level of your sport, and it's kind of constant body and mind management. That takes a toll, for sure.

Yeah, I think it's important to normalize it and, yeah, take some time if you need.

Q. How was the support from the tour, from fans, family, from colleagues? Jil Teichmann also had some time off because of burnout. Was there any communication between you two?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, no, I didn't talk to Jil, but I talked to some of the other players.

I tried to take a step back from the tour, and I didn't follow results or watch any tennis while I was not playing. I just wanted to feel like a regular person, a non-tennis player first before a tennis player.

I spent a lot of time with my family and friends at home and kind of just, yeah, got to feel pretty regular. That was really nice. Yeah, it's made me appreciate a lot of things coming back to the tour.

Q. Sort of brief for you to play a two-set match rather than the three-set grinds. What has been the sort of hardest thing about getting used to coming back after a rather extended absence, and how much of a shock was it when in some of the recent tournaments you did go long, and you were out on the court for a long time, especially with the heat these days? It looks like it's going to extend for a little while. Do you feel up to doing that at this point?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, I do. I think the hardest thing about coming back was just the mental side of the sport. There's feelings and thoughts, I guess, that you can't replicate on the practice court.

You can only practice playing through those things in a real match environment. So that was something I knew was going to be a challenge. It's something that I've worked through a lot in my -- in the last few tournaments I've played, and I'll continue to work through.

But, yeah, I'm feeling good, and it's nice to get a two-set win. If it would have gone three today, I would have, you know, felt prepared for the challenge.

Yeah, I'm feeling good.

Q. Next up you have Iva again. It was a three-set match, but you kind of ran away with it in the third set last week. How do you guard against maybe the complacency of playing someone that you just played again? Do you think about maybe changing tactics or strategy or anything going into this match?

EMMA NAVARRO: I'll talk to my coach tomorrow and kind of put together a specific plan, but you know, I know Iva will be coming after me. I think it's honestly easier to play somebody you've lost to recently. You know, there's a bit less pressure.

So, yeah, I'm kind of the one that's got to defend a win from last week, but I'll try to kind of prioritize the helpful thoughts and put the unhelpful ones to the back of my mind.

Yeah, I'm excited to play her again. She's obviously a really, really talented player and has got a great head on her shoulders. I respect a lot of what she's doing.

So I think it will be a great challenge. Kind of a bummer to play an American in the second round, but it is what it is. I'll be ready to go.

Q. You've just talked a lot about the mental work in addition to the physical work that you were kind of doing. When you were off the tour, I wonder what that looked like for you? Was it something you realized right away that, okay, while I'm focusing on my health, I'm also going to need to keep my head on my shoulders and be preparing to come back for the tour when I feel good for it? I just wonder how you, like, knew what you needed in that moment from a mental health perspective?

EMMA NAVARRO: I think you never really know what you need. You're kind of just guessing always, but I think the biggest thing for me while I was home, my top priority was just feeling as healthy as I could.

Then, secondly, just kind of fostering some different parts of my life that I'm not able to on the tour. You know, getting to see my family and my friends, like I said, and just kind of feeling like a regular person and getting to do things that I'm not able to do on the tour.

So, yeah, those two things were kind of my main focus.

Q. I just wonder, how do you handle pressure? Do you put yourself under pressure? What do you expect from yourself in this phase of your career?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, I think pressure is something that I and all of us have felt from the time we were really young. You know, having people tell us we could be really good, it's I guess a familiar feeling.

That's one of the biggest challenges. You know, what can you do under pressure, and how well can you manage your emotions and just manage your mind in those moments when you're really feeling the pressure?

But it's something I actually really like to overcome and manage. It's a part of the sport that I think takes a lot of thoughtfulness and I guess self-reflection. Yeah, it's something I enjoy taking on.

Q. Over time the last few months there have been struggles, challenges for you mentally and physically, and I just wonder, we all have seen what you are or what you can be at your peak, the type of tennis you play, the identity you have. For you, is there a moment or are there moments sometimes where a player like yourself of your stature can forget that identity and has to kind of reconnect with it? If so, how would you approach that challenge?

EMMA NAVARRO: Yeah, I think definitely. I think over these past few weeks that's kind of been the journey I've been on. I think I kind of surprised myself last week.

Just, yeah, being able to have a result like that, I didn't feel like, you know, I'm a player that's able to beat top-10 players when I came into the week. I kind of just kept plugging and kept moving along and doing all the things that I feel like give me the best chance to win.

It ended up working out, so yeah, I think -- yeah, that's it.