Emma Navarro makes feelings known on 'unnatural' price of fame at her billionaire father-owned Charleston Open

Emma Navarro is seeded fourth at this week's Credit One Charleston Open, a tournament run by her billionaire father, Ben Navarro. The American recently spoke about the slippery slope of being famous, insisting that the boundaries of her relationship with tennis fans become unclear when the latter form an opinion of her based on limited information.

Navarro enjoyed a career-best season on the WTA Tour last year, finishing inside the year-end top eight singles rankings and winning her maiden pro title at the 2024 Hobart International. The 23-year-old enjoyed her second singles triumph at the Merida Open last month and will be looking to go deep at the 500-level event in Charleston this year.

Emma Navarro recently spoke to the media at the South Carolina event about receiving more attention from the tennis world following her breakthrough. The current World No. 11 made an honest admission about the interest fans have started taking in her, saying:

"More people recognize me, for sure, especially in Charleston. But I’ve learned to just embrace that part of it. It’s a little bit unnatural having a bunch of people know who you are, and you don’t know who they are. That line can get blurry a little bit. People think they know you a little more than they do. That’s been something that I’ve had to kind of get used to."

Navarro will face her compatriot Hailey Baptiste in the second round of the 2025 Credit One Charleston Open later on Wednesday, April 2.

---

Emma Navarro: "I’m really lucky to have people that are very grounding for me"

Emma Navarro tracks down a ball at the Australian Open 2025 | Image Source: Getty

During the interaction with the media at her $4.8 billion-worth father's (via Forbes) tournament, Emma Navarro also expressed satisfaction with her inner circle while speaking about her burgeoning tennis career. She said:

"In another sense, so many things have stayed the same. I’m still putting a lot of my time and energy into tennis and continuing to improve myself and be the best player I can be. I’m really lucky to have people that are very grounding for me around me. They make me feel like 'regular Emma', I guess."

In her five appearances at the Charleston Open (2019, 2021-24), the American has failed to go past the Round of 16. The World No. 11's best result at the 500-level event came last year when she reached the quarterfinals before losing to Romania's Jaqueline Cristian in three sets.