When it comes to Grand Slams, Emma Navarro has been the biggest hurdle for Coco Gauff lately. Navarro defeated Gauff in the Round of 16 of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships 6-4, 6-3. After seeing Gauff run out of ideas to counter her and seeking help from her coaching team, Navarro said, “It’s definitely a bit of a confidence boost, knowing that your game plan is doing what you wanted it to do.” Then weeks later at the US Open, she defeated Gauff in the Round of 16, this time taking three sets to do it.

After seeing her impressive performance at the US Open, Serena Williams’ ex-coach, Rick Macci, said, “What I love about Emma Navarro besides her improvising skills is her mindset.” Taking that same mindset of overcoming massive hurdles, Navarro reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open earlier this season. But now, her shocking exit from the 2025 French Open has drawn quite a few reactions from the tennis world. Is she perhaps suffering from an injury?

Well, Coco Gauff’s ex-coach Brad Gilbert recently shared a few thoughts on this. Just a few months ago, Emma Navarro became the first player to win a WTA final (Merida Open Akron) by a 6-0, 6-0 margin (against Emilian Arango) since Iga Swiatek. And now, she has been defeated by the world number 68, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, in the first round of the 2025 French Open by 0-6, 1-6. Talk about a drastic turnaround.

It took the Spaniard just 57 minutes to seal the deal in this match. Although Navarro successfully avoided the double bagel, her performance has now raised quite a few question marks. It even prompted Gauff’s ex-coach Brad Gilbert to post about it on X: “Wow, just seeing live scores, what happened to Emma Navarro, got hammered by Spanish player Manero.” After seeing this tweet, one commenter, “Some speculate illness perhaps was a factor. She didn’t seem to put in effort to chase down some balls which is unlike her.” Having no doubt watched Navarro closely while coaching Coco Gauff, Brad Gilbert took the speculations to newer heights. “Very unlike her,” he wrote in response to that fan.

Emma Navarro is currently ranked ninth in the world, but her recent exit has now raised some serious question marks about her top 10 spot; she was, after all, voted as 2024’s ‘Most Improved Player of the Year,’ rising from the 38th rank in 2023 to reach the Top 10. But she’s had her ups and downs this season with a win-loss record of 17-12. Can Navarro make a stronger comeback in her next tournament? Time will tell! But let’s find out some of the reactions surrounding this massive upset at the French Open.

“One of the most shocking performances” – the tennis world reacts to Emma Navarro’s loss

Emma Navarro struggled right from the start of the match. She was broken seven times, claiming just 30 of 86 total points. But Jessica Bouzas Maneiro has a habit of forcing massive upsets in big events. For example, last year she defeated the then reigning Wimbledon champion, Marketa Vondrousova, in the first round of the Wimbledon Championships by 6-4, 6-2. But stealing a bagel in the first set and then almost securing another in the second one, and that too against an in-form player, is still exceptional.

Reacting to this shocking result, commentator Matt Chilton couldn’t help but take a dig at Navarro. “Got the bagel in the first set and now applying smoked salmon and cream cheese to it in the second set,” he said. Then, renowned tennis journalist Jose Morgado posted, “One of the most shocking performances from a top 10 player that I’ve ever seen. Shockingly flat from her today.”

Echoing Brad Gilbert’s speculation, on truTV Mark Petchey said, “That is a devastating loss. I feel like there’s an explanation coming.” In the last four decades, only two other women (Steffi Graf and Serena Williams) have conceded just one game in a match against a Top 10 opponent in Paris. Now, what did Bouzas Maneiro have to say after the match?

“Right now I just feel really happy how I played today, how I was handling pressure and nerves for the first round here,” said the 22-year-old Spaniard. “Last year was tough for me, and I wanted to do my best, and I think I did it, so happy for that.. I just think that everything is possible; I try to play my best every match. I have my team here. I knew that I have a lot of support and we prepared as well for the match as we could. Of course, I didn’t expect this score, this result! But yeah, I’m happy.”

But despite this early exit, Navarro still managed to bag $88,000 with her first-round appearance at the tournament. But do you think Emma Navarro can make a strong comeback after this devastating result in the rest of her tournaments this year?