The US Open has now arrived, with Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner aiming to defend their titles in New York.
ATP number one Sinner defeated home favourite Taylor Fritz in 2024, with WTA number one Sabalenka doing the same to Jessica Pegula.
The American duo fell just short of famous victories at the US Open, and will be looking for similarly strong runs this time around.
Qualifying for the hard-court Grand Slam is taking place this week, while the mixed doubles has just concluded.
There were mixed feelings about the US Open mixed doubles tournament, which was won by Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori.
US Open semifinalist from 2024 has now lost five of last six matches
The singles event will soon take centre stage at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where the fans will be desperate for an American winner.
But one such player who has hit poor form at the worst possible time is Emma Navarro, who is 11th in the WTA rankings.
READ MORE: Lindsay Davenport says what she finds ‘remarkable’ about Emma Navarro over the 2025 season
The 24-year-old American decided to take on the Monterrey Open in a bid to fine-tune her game for the US Open.
But it appears to have already backfired, with Navarro having lost her opening match to compatriot Alycia Parks.
The disappointing result means she has now lost five of her last six matches since falling in the last 16 of Wimbledon.
She opted to play the tournament in Mexico rather than play in the US Open mixed doubles event, having initially signed up with Jannik Sinner.
How did Emma Navarro reach the 2024 US Open semifinals?
Navarro should be worried heading into the US Open, having just continued her nightmare run at the WTA 500 event in Monterrey.
She was the top seed there, but lost 6-4, 3-6, 2-6 to Parks in the round of 16 after receiving a bye in the round of 32.
| Round | Opponent | Score |
| First | Anna Blinkova | 6-1, 6-1 |
| Second | Arantxa Rus | 6-1, 6-1 |
| Third | Marta Kostyuk (19) | 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 |
| Fourth | Coco Gauff (3) | 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 |
| Quarterfinal | Paula Badosa (26) | 6-2, 7-5 |
| Semifinal | Aryna Sabalenka (2) | 3-6, 6-7 |
But the American can at least take some confidence from her superb run at the US Open this time last year.
Navarro produced her best-ever Grand Slam run to reach the semifinals, where she fell to eventual champion Sabalenka.
She was the 13th seed at the 2024 US Open, with third seed and fellow American Coco Gauff among her victims during her fantastic run.
A repeat of that scenario does, however, seem unlikely this time around given her worrying run of form on the court.
She’s now lost her opening matches in Washington, Cincinnati and Monterrey, defeating only Rebecca Marino in Canada.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
