Adelaide International 2025: Emma Navarro secures first win of the season against Ekaterina Alexandrova

Emma Navarro successfully began her campaign at the Adelaide International, securing her first win of the season. The American showcased her top-10 prowess, defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6(4), 6-4 in the round of 16 at the Adelaide International.

Navarro had a disappointing start to the season in Brisbane last week, falling in the first round to Aussie wildcard Kimberly Birrell (World No. 113). This time, the 23-year-old entered the WTA 500 Adelaide event as the second seed, earning a bye in the opening round.

Navarro starts strong in Adelaide

From the start, Navarro (World No. 8) dictated the pace of the match, dominating her service games and putting Alexandrova (World No. 27) under pressure during her own. By the fourth game, the Russian was already battling hard, enduring an 18-point service game and fending off six break points. It was only a matter of time before the American capitalised, eventually breaking to lead 5-2.

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Alexandrova began taking more risks and found success, saving three set points at 3-5, 0-40 and fighting back to level the set at 5-5. The set was ultimately decided in a tiebreak, where Navarro recovered from her earlier slip-ups to clinch it 7-6(4).

The momentum shifted entirely in the second set. Alexandrova’s first serve faltered, and a series of unforced errors handed Navarro two consecutive breaks. Within 15 minutes, Navarro had surged to a 4-0 lead.

The clear advantage for the American and her convincing form seemed to seal the match, but Alexandrova recovered one of the breaks. Nevertheless, Navarro broke back immediately and went up 5-2 with the serve in her favour to close out the win. However, the Russian secured a second consecutive break, raising doubts about the match's conclusion.

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The world No. 8 had no doubts this time and managed to close out the triumph with her serve by 7-6(4), 6-4. Navarro finished with a 64% first-serve percentage, winning 68% of those points. Navarro was also particularly aggressive on the return, both on her opponent's first and second serves, elements that were key to her game in 2024.

In the quarterfinals, Navarro will face the winner of the clash between Russian Liudmila Samsonova (No. 26) and former World No. 4 Belinda Bencic (No. 421), who is on a comeback trail after a year-long maternity leave.

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