Emma Navarro matches Steffi Graf, Emma Raducanu US Open feat with semi-final run
Emma Navarro is putting on a show for her home fans in New York.
Having beaten Coco Gauff in the fourth round, the 13th seed is now through to her first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open, beating Paula Badosa in straight sets on Tuesday.
It is an outstanding run for Navarro in a year full of improved results, but what makes it even more incredible is that she had never won a US Open match previously.
That makes her just the sixth woman in the last 40 years to reach the semi-final in New York having never picked up a solitary match win at the tournament beforehand.
Emma Navarro – 2024
This is the third main draw appearance for Navarro, who previously played in 2021 and 2023.
She lost to Christina McHale on her tournament debut three years ago and was then beaten by Magdalena Frech in last year’s edition of the event.
The 13th seed has been a woman transformed in New York this year though, beating the likes of Gauff and Badosa to reach the biggest match of her career.
Emma Raducanu – 2021
Few can forget Raducanu’s incredible run in 2021.
Making just her second Grand Slam appearance – after her Wimbledon debut months before – the Brit came through qualifying to reach the main draw.
Raducanu stunned Belinda Bencic in the quarter-finals to reach the last four, and backed that up by beating Maria Sakkari and Leylah Fernandez to lift the title.
Bianca Andreescu – 2019
Much like Raducanu, Andreescu had never played a US Open main draw match before 2019 – losing in the first round of qualifying the previous two years.
But a surge in 2019 propelled her inside the top 20 of the WTA Rankings and, in her first Grand Slam quarter-final, she beat Elise Mertens to reach the last four.
Andreescu would go on to lift the title, beating Bencic and Serena Williams.
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Yanina Wickmayer – 2009
Heading into the 2009 US Open, Belgian star Wickmayer was unseeded – and had lost in round one to Katerina Srebotnik in her tournament debut the previous year.
But, in a run out of nowhere, she found herself in the semi-final of the event in 2009.
Wickmayer beat the likes of Sara Errani and Petra Kvitova to make the last eight, before she beat Kateryna Bondarenko to reach the semi-final – where she fell to Caroline Wozniacki.
Venus Williams – 1997
Williams’ breakout run came at her home Slam 27 years ago, with the US icon defying her unseeded status in New York.
After shocking eighth seed Anke Huber in the third round, Williams beat Sandrine Testud in the quarter-finals to reach the last four on her US Open debut.
She would beat Irina Spirlea in the last four to reach the first of her 16 Grand Slam singles finals, where she was beaten by Martina Hingis.
Steffi Graf – 1985
Aged only 16, Graf’s legendary career sparked into life at Flushing Meadows back in 1985, with the German reaching the first Grand Slam semi-final of her career.
Graf had been beaten by compatriot Sylvia Hanika on her main draw debut in 1984, though progressed to her first major quarter-final the following year.
After beating eighth seed Manuela Maleeva in the round of 16, she then battled past fourth seed Pam Shriver in the quarter-finals – though was beaten by Martina Navratilova in their semi-final.
