After Stepping Away, Emma Navarro Is Back For More
The 25-year-old American discusses returning from the issues that forced a halt to her nearly-nonstop playing schedule.
PARIS, France — Before getting into today’s main topic—which is Emma Navarro and the health issues from which she’s returning to tour—I wanted to thank everybody who has subscribed to Bounces in the last few days, which has caused quite the spike in the numbers here.
Bounces went back up to second place today among all sports Substacks in the 24-hour charts (after being in third place in the previous 24-hour cycle), with lots of folks hopping onto the French Open promotion running here.
Grand Slam events always move the needle at Bounces, but this has been especially remarkable, so I wanted to thank new and old subscribers, and encourage anyone on the fence to jump aboard for lots more from the 2026 French Open and beyond, starting with today’s post.
On Monday at Roland Garros I got the chance to speak with Emma Navarro, who was one of the players I was most eager to chat with here, even before she went on an unexpected run to the title last week at WTA 500 Strasbourg.
That trophy was the biggest of Navarro’s career so far, both when measured by the strength of the field at the event, and because of the health issues which forced Navarro to step away from the tour for two months this year, missing both ATP-WTA 1000 Miami and her hometown event, WTA 500 Charleston.
Navarro’s absence raised questions within tennis circles, and her return sparked unkind comments on social media about her changed physical appearance.
But for Navarro, who shot to the top echelon of women’s tennis remarkably quickly, stepping off the hamster wheel of the tour was necessary for both her physical and mental health.
“Definitely exacerbated by playing tennis. The tour is tough, and it’ll take it out of you. It’s constant travel and a lot of stress on the body and the mind.” -Emma Navarro on her health issues.
To read the full story—as well as previews of six matches to watch on Day 3 of the French Open, please subscribe to Bounces! -Ben
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