Indian Wells: Navarro Upsets Sabalenka to enter quarter finals

Emma Navarro concedes the number 23 ranking feels like an odd companion next to her name. So you can only imagine her reaction after she strolled onto the second biggest tennis court in the world and knocked out Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka from the BNP Paribas Open.

Navarro looked like she belonged Wednesday with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 win against World No.2 Sabalenka to reach the Round of 16. The victory is Navarro’s best by ranking and boosted into a fourth quarterfinal on the season and first of her career at the WTA 1000 level.

“When I acknowledge my ranking right now compared to a year ago, it’s really crazy and seems really fast,” Navarro said on the WTA Insider Podcast earlier this week. “But then when I go out and hit or play a match, it doesn’t feel like anything’s happened that fast.”

Navarro made her WTA main-draw debut in 2019 and was the No.1 college recruit a year later. She chose to attend the University of Virginia, where she took home the NCAA title as a freshman. She turned pro in 2022, and after a season of nonstop play last year, she earned a Top 100 debut and season-ending finish at No.38.

Navarro will next face either No.9 seed Maria Sakkari.