Emma Navarro enjoyed a superb season, with the American ending the year with a career-high ranking of eighth.
Navarro also won her first career WTA Tour title in 2024, overcoming Elise Mertens to clinch the Hobart International in January.
She finished her season in disappointing circumstances with a Ningbo Open withdrawal due to illness, with Navarro narrowly missing out on a WTA Finals spot.
Qinwen Zheng just edged out the 23-year-old, with the Chinese star making it all the way to the final in Riyadh before losing to Coco Gauff.
But Navarro has now been tipped to challenge Aryna Sabalenka on hard courts in 2025, such has been her impressive 2024 campaign.
Emma Navarro is most improved WTA player in 2024
With back-to-back Australian Open titles, Sabalenka is a master on the surface, but Navarro is certainly one to watch overall given how she improved more than any other player in 2024.
READ MORE: Shuai Zhang breaks a China Open record with her shock win over Emma Navarro
As per OptaAce, her 45 wins this season were 29 more than last season, the biggest difference for any WTA player between 2023 and 2024.
What was Emma Navarro’s Grand Slam record in 2024?
Navarro particularly shone in Grand Slams in 2024, with the American progressing as the season went on.
She fell in the third round of the Australian Open, her best major finish at that stage, followed by a run to the French Open fourth round.
A quarter-final adventure at Wimbledon followed, with Navarro then making the semi-finals of the US Open.
| Year | Australian Open | French Open | Wimbledon | US Open |
| 2021 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1st |
| 2023 | N/A | 2nd | 1st | 1st |
| 2024 | 3rd | 4th | QF | SF |
The home favourite in New York saw her dream run ended by Sabalenka, who went on to beat another American in Jessica Pegula to lift the trophy.
Navarro will now be ready to get going ahead of the 2025 season, where she will undoubtedly be one to watch.
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