"Emma Navarro should be banned from playing"; "Absolutely horrible" - Fans react after American loses to World No. 71 Alycia Parks in US Open warm-up

Emma Navarro was bundled out of the 2025 Monterrey Open in the second round at the hands of her compatriot Alycia Parks earlier on Wednesday (August 20). The American has since received criticism from a considerable section of the tennis community. Not only that, her recent form has also come under scrutiny as many fans feel she hasn't been able to justify her WTA ranking of 11 this year.

Last year, Navarro won 45 of her 67 matches on the main tour and enjoyed a stellar season that punctuated her top 10 debut. The 24-year-old has failed to emulate her 2024 form for most of this year, though, already having dropped 21 matches for just 25 wins. Her most recent early-round exit came at the 2025 Abierto GNP Seguros in Monterrey, Mexico against her fellow American Alycia Parks.

Despite her top seeding at the WTA 250 tournament, Emma Navarro struggled with her game in the second-round outing. She wasted a set lead to lose 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in just over two hours, eliciting questions about her current form from fans on Reddit and X (formerly Twitter). One fan on Reddit went as far as to suggest that she will drop a massive amount of points at the US Open, which saw her reach the semifinals last year.

"When Navarro inevitably has an early exit at the USO she needs to go on a sabbatical and find a new coach in the meantime. I used to be a big fan but it’s absolutely horrible to watch her lately," the fan wrote on the tennis subreddit.

Another fan, meanwhile, called the two-time WTA singles titlist "the worst top 10 player of all time" on X.

"If Emma Navarro loses to Parks she should be banned from playing. Worst top 10 player of all time?" they claimed.

A few others also ruminated on whether Emma Navarro is in for a freefall in the WTA rankings in the upcoming weeks.

"God what a terrible season Navarro is having. How many points is she dropping at the US Open?" one fan wrote.

"What is happening to Navarro? And how is she still in top 20? I thought she had some pretty bad results this season?" another fan insisted.

There was delight in the tennis community for World No. 71's Parks' run in Monterrey as well. The 24-year-old big server has since reached the semifinals of the 250-level event, where she will face third-seeded Diana Shnaider later on Friday (August 22).

"First time Parks has won back to back matches since Dubai!" one fan wrote while referencing the American's recent slump.

"Emma should've kept her a** in Flushing Meadows... 2nd top 20 win for Alycia this season!" another wrote.

Emma Navarro, on her part, can take respite in some of her positive results from the first half of the season ahead of the New York Slam.

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Emma Navarro reached the quarterfinals of Australian Open 2025

Emma Navarro hits a backhand in Monterrey | Image Source: Getty

While Emma Navarro's track record this year looks underwhelming on paper, she began her third full-tour season with winning ways continuing. Although then-World No. 8 went 1-2 in the tune-up events ahead of the Australian Open in January, the 24-year-old eventually hit top form Down Under to record her third consecutive Major quarterfinal appearance.

Navarro lost convincingly to second-seeded Iga Swiatek in straight sets and yet again endured a short rough patch before her resurgence at the Merida Open, which saw her secure the singles title without the loss of a single set. She has since dropped 16 of her last 31 WTA Tour outings though, with a deep run at next week's US Open being one of her last opportunities to salvage her top ranking.