"How much did Emma Navarro pay for that?" - Fans slam Australian Open over 'worst scheduling ever' on Day 3

The 2025 Australian Open's Day 3 schedule has not gone down well with tennis fans. Several of them minced no words as they wondered how players like Emma Navarro, Peyton Stearns, Veronika Kudermetova, and Olivia Gadecki got spots to play at the Rod Laver Arena while more established players like Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz will have to settle for spots on other courts at Melbourne Park.

On Monday, January 13, with the 2025 Australian Open's second day of play already having commenced, the tournament's official X (formerly Twitter) handle shared the order of play for Day 3. Emma Navarro vs Peyton Stearns and Veronika Kudermetova vs Olivia Gadecki at Rod Laver Arena, Elena Rybakina vs Emerson Jones at Margaret Court Arena, and Taylor Fritz vs Jenson Brooksby at John Cain Arena are some of the Day 3 matches to raise fans' eyebrows.

Some fans opined that WTA World No. 7 Rybakina and ATP World No. 4 Fritz deserved spots on Rod Laver Arena instead of Navarro, Stearns, Kudermetova, and Gadecki. Rybakina is a former Australian Open finalist, while Fritz reached his maiden Grand Slam final at last year's US Open.

"How much did Emma Navarro pay for that RLA spot?" one said.

"RLA TICKETHOLDERS WANT THEIR MONEY BACK," another wrote.

"LOL at those poor suckers that paid for an RLA ticket," a third fan said.

One fan tweeted a humorous GIF featuring 2024 Australian Open women's singles runner-up Zheng Qinwen.

"Kudermetova - Gadecki RLA night session???" they wrote.

Here are a few more reactions:

"The Taylor Fritz disrespect is astounding," a fan said.

"Literally no discernible reason for Taylor to be on John Cain Arena…" another wrote.

"Scheduling for the first 3 days has been astoundingly bad," yet another said.

Navarro ran only one campaign in Melbourne before, which came last year.

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Emma Navarro's Australian Open 2024 campaign ended with a 3R loss

Emma Navarro (Source: Getty)

The 2024 Australian Open marked Emma Navarro's debut appearance at the Melbourne Major. Seeded No. 27 in the women's singles main draw, she won her first and second-round matches against Wang Xiyu and Elisabetta Cocciaretto respectively. Dayana Yastremska eventually defeated her in the third round.

Navarro's Grand Slam performances continued to improve as 2024 went on. She reached the fourth round at the French Open, losing to Aryna Sabalenka. Her 2024 Wimbledon Championships campaign saw her reach the quarterfinals before falling to eventual runner-up Jasmine Paolini. However, she saved her best for the last Major of 2024 on home soil at the US Open.

Navarro famously ousted defending champion Coco Gauff from the tournament on her way to her maiden Grand Slam semifinal, where she once again came up second-best against Sabalenka. At the 2025 Australian Open, she is the No. 8 seed, and if she wins over compatriot Stearns in the first round, she will go on to face either Wang Xiyu or Julia Grabher.