Emma Navarro, who grew up playing tennis on Daniel Island in Charleston and started her WTA main-draw career here in 2019, has been a participant in every Charleston Open since.
For the first time in her seventh attempt, the No. 4 seed and Charleston native reached the quarterfinals. She rallied from a set and a break down to beat fellow American and No. 15 seed Ashlyn Krueger with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. In the quarterfinals, Navarro will compete against another American player, No. 8 seed Amanda Anisimova. Anisimova won her match against No. 10 seed Yulia Putintseva with a score of 6-4, 6-4.
Despite being the same age and growing up playing tennis, Navarro and Anisimova first played against each other in 2022. Anisimova has won both of their previous matches: 6-2, 6-2 at Indian Wells in 2022 and 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in Toronto last year.
Navarro faced immediate pressure from Krueger, who has already achieved five Top 20 wins in 2025. Krueger started strong by breaking Navarro`s serve in the very first game. The 20-year-old Krueger maintained her lead throughout the first set and then broke again to lead 2-0 in the second set.
However, a double fault from Krueger allowed Navarro back into the match. Navarro, a US Open semifinalist, seized the opportunity. She broke back with a strong forehand and then hit a return winner to take a 5-3 lead in the second set. From that point, Navarro took control in the third set, effectively using drop shots against Krueger, whose unforced errors increased to 40, compared to 17 winners.
In contrast, Navarro became more aggressive as the match progressed. In the first set, she played cautiously, making only five unforced errors and hitting three winners. In the second and third sets, she hit 18 winners while still maintaining a good ratio, with only 11 additional unforced errors.
Earlier, Anisimova played exceptionally well to defeat Putintseva, improving her head-to-head record against the player from Kazakhstan to 3-1 (and 2-0 in Charleston, also having won against her 6-1, 6-2 in the 2022 second round). The match was a clash of styles, with Anisimova aiming to speed up the rallies and Putintseva trying to slow them down. Anisimova demonstrated confidence in long rallies, patiently waiting for a chance to hit a winning shot.
Putintseva`s usually precise touch was not working well from the beginning. A drop shot went too high, and a lob landed just beyond the baseline. Although she managed to keep both sets close, the 30-year-old also made an uncharacteristic 25 unforced errors which contributed to her loss.
Rupert Caldwell