After fighting her way into the semifinals of the US Open, Emma Navarro of Charleston praised her coach Peter Ayers.
“My coach and I have been together since I was 14 or 15, I think,” said Navarro, now 23. “So that’s eight years now and we’ve done a lot of great work together. So thank you for everything we do, for your dedication, for all the time you’ve put into this journey and for making me the player I am today.”
Navarro had said this before after big victories, but this time it seemed to have a different effect. Perhaps it was because of the venue, the historic Arthur Ashe Stadium, or the tournament, one of the four Grand Slam events in professional tennis.
Ayers, sitting in the players’ box, placed his hand over his heart and appeared to be holding back tears behind his sunglasses.
“It took me by surprise, to be honest,” Ayers said Wednesday, a day after Navarro’s 6-2, 7-5 victory over Paula Badosa in the Open quarterfinals. “I keep saying the sunglasses saved me.”
“She gave me so much every day for so many years. I am forever grateful to be her coach and to have the chance to walk this path with her. And that was definitely something very special.”
Coach Ayers
Ayers, 51, was a key member of Team Emma, the support group that backed the Ashley Hall School graduate’s rapid rise to the top of the WTA Tour. Navarro, who turned professional just two years ago, won her first WTA singles title earlier this year, is currently ranked 12th in the world and is expected to break into the top 10 next week.
In her first ever Grand Slam semifinal, Navarro will face second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka again at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City on September 5 at 7 p.m. (ESPN). It is the biggest match of her young career.
Ayers, who played college tennis at Duke, was Navarro’s coach every step of the way. He first saw Emma play when she was about 11 years old after he was hired as a coach at LTP Tennis, the training centers owned by Charleston Tennis LLC and Ben Navarro, Emma’s father.
