[11] Navarro was rated as the best tennis recruit in the nation and joined the Virginia Cavaliers in the fall of 2020 after having previously committed to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

[13] She avenged her only loss of the season in the final of the 2021 NCAA singles championship, beating defending champion Estela Perez-Somarriba of the University of Miami.

[13] With her NCAA win, she earned a wild card into the 2021 US Open main draw where she made her Grand Slam tournament debut.

2 nationally, after losing to Abigail Rencheli of NC State in the round of 16 of the 2022 NCAA singles championship.

[16] For her debut at the French Open as a wildcard, Navarro reached the second round defeating lucky loser, Erika Andreeva for her first win at a major.

[24] Navarro defeated Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue and reached her first WTA Tour final on her debut at the tournament.

[25] Navarro won her maiden title defeating former two-time Hobart champion Elise Mertens.

27,[29] Navarro defeated Wang Xiyu and Elisabetta Cocciaretto to reach the third round of a major for the first time in her career.

[22] Seeded third at the San Diego Open, she reached the semifinals defeating Katerina Siniaková and qualifier Daria Saville.

Navarro became the first American to defeat a top-2 opponent at the tournament since Serena Williams did so in 2001 against Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals.

At Wimbledon, Navarro reached her first major quarterfinal with wins over Wang Qiang,[37] Naomi Osaka,[38] Diana Shnaider,[39] and world No.

She made her debut at the Summer Olympics in Paris where she advanced to the third round losing there to eventual gold medalist, Zheng Qinwen.

[64] Emma attended Ashley Hall, an all-girls private school in downtown Charleston, where she played on the varsity tennis team.

She is good friends with fellow American tennis player Danielle Collins[65] who she views as a role model.