U.S. Open: Emma Navarro to face Sabalenka in first Grand Slam semifinal after defeating Paula Badosa

Emma Navarro faces Aryna Sabalenka in her first Grand Slam semifinal at the U.S. Open, aiming for a major upset.

Emma Navarro's first Grand Slam semifinal will come at the U.S. Open against Aryna Sabalenka, someone trying to win her second major trophy of the year and third overall.

Navarro, an American who is seeded 13th, used a stunning turnaround to grab the last six games of her quarterfinal against Paula Badosa for a 6-2, 7-5 victory at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday, following up her upset of defending champion Coco Gauff.

“Sometimes you’re out in the court, and you can kind of picture yourself playing a third set. When I was out there, I didn’t picture myself playing a third set,” despite being down 5-1 in the second, Navarro said. “I felt like ... I could come back and do it in two.”

Sure did.

There was no such drama in No. 2 Sabalenka's 6-1, 6-2 win against No. 7 Zheng Qinwen, the gold medalist at the Paris Olympics last month, in a rematch of Sabalenka's victory in the Australian Open final.

With Roger Federer in the stands, attending the U.S. Open for the first time since his retirement, Sabalenka displayed a typically powerful performance to get into the semifinals in New York for the fourth year in a row. In 2023, she was the runner-up to Gauff.

Sabalenka said she saw Federer in the crowd and figured he was there to watch Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov in the match that followed hers.