Emma Navarro explains her controversial decision to play Hong Kong 125 after being quizzed about her race with Zheng Qinwen

Emma Navarro was recently quizzed about her and Zheng Qinwen’s intense race to the 2024 WTA Finals. In that regard, the American also clarified her controversial decision to compete at the Hong Kong 125 Open following her 2024 China Open exit.

Navarro has reached Wuhan for the final WTA 1000 event of the season. This marks her third tournament in China following the Beijing WTA 1000 and the 125-level event in Hong Kong. Ahead of her opening match at the Wuhan Open, Emma Navarro expressed her desire to make a deep run in hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals for the first time.

"I'd love to make a run. I'm looking forward to trying to make the WTA Finals at the end of the year. That's kind of the goal for me right now. Yeah, there's just a few tournaments left. Going to try to make a final push towards the end of the season," she said during her pre-tournament press conference.

Navarro has had nothing to show for her Asian campaign so far. She crashed out of the China Open in Beijing with an opening-match loss to local Zhang Shuai. Following her early exit, she accepted a wildcard entry to the Hong Kong 125 Open (a 125-level tournament), where she lost to Anna Blinkova in the quarterfinals.

The 23-year-old’s decision was frowned upon by the tennis community, given her top-10 ranking. Many fans accused her of “vulturing” to gain ranking points while taking away the spot from a player who might need it more.

A reporter in Wuhan asked Emma Navarro whether she competed in Hong Kong to gain a ranking advantage over Zheng Qinwen, whom she has been feuding with since the Paris Olympics. Zheng (eighth in the WTA Finals race with 3460 points) has inched closer to the American (seventh in the race with 3568 points) following her China Open semifinal run.

Denying the narrative, Navarro explained that her 125-level campaign would not be considered in her ranking total due to the WTA rules. She clarified that she required match practice to be ready for the Wuhan Open.

"No. The points in Hong Kong actually didn't even count towards the race to the Finals," the 2024 US Open semifinalist said.

"It was more just I was going to have a week and a half of training after I lost in Beijing, which is a long time to just be training. I wanted to go and try to stay match-ready. Yeah, that was my reasoning for playing Hong Kong," Emma Navarro added.

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Emma Navarro and Zheng Qinwen to kick off their Wuhan Open 2024 campaigns in the second round

Emma Navarro pictured with Zheng Qinwen (R) at the 2024 Indian Wells Open - Image Source: Getty

Emma Navarro and Zheng Qinwen have received an opening-round bye at the 2024 Wuhan Open, thanks to their high ranking. Both are chasing their maiden WTA 1000 titles.

Navarro, the World No. 8, is seeded sixth at the tournament. She begins her campaign against Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the second round on Wednesday, October 9.

Meanwhile, Zheng Qinwen is seeded fifth. She awaits the winner between Camila Osorio and Jaqueline Cristian.