One tennis possibility is capturing headlines ahead of her comeback to the French Open this year, as the heiress to a fortune dwarfing the best names in the sport.
Emma Navarro may not be a big name in sports, but her net worth would make tennis legends Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal green with jealousy.
The 23-year-old American prodigy, who will shortly begin her French Open trip against Zeynep Sonmez, is not under financial pressure to perform. And it’s all thanks to her millionaire father.
Navarro, ranked 22nd in the WTA, is the daughter of business billionaire Ben and the granddaughter of Frank, an ex-American football star turned coach. Among his other companies, Ben founded and owns Sherman Financial Group, which includes Credit One Bank.
Ben has also dabbled in the tennis scene as Emma’s popularity grows, purchasing Charleston Tennis LLC through his Beemok Sports company in 2018. This organization hosts the Charleston Open, the world’s longest-running women’s tennis tournament.
He also renovated a stadium in the South Carolina city with a capacity of 10,000 and renamed both the tournament and the facility after his company, CreditOne. Fast forward to 2022, when he purchased the rights to the Western and Southern Open, a men’s and women’s singles championship, according to the Daily Express.
In 2022, the Western and Southern Open included 19 of the world’s top 20 players. It is one of only nine tennis tournaments worldwide that are recognized as top-tier for both male and female players.
Navarro, who boasts a staggering net worth of around $3billion (£2.35bn), dwarfs the wealth of tennis giants like Federer, Djokovic and Nadal, who have estimated net worths of $550million (£431m), $240m (£188m) and $220m (£173m), respectively.
Emma, an emerging tennis star, hopes to beat her personal best at a major by making it past the third round for the first time ever. Her Grand Slam experience began as a wildcard participant at the 2021 US Open, when she was knocked out in the first round by fellow countrywoman Christina McHale.
Her next major competition occurred when she made her debut at Roland Garros last year. She advanced to the second round, but lost in the first rounds of Wimbledon and the US Open later in 2023.
She made her Australian Open debut in January, reaching the third round after overcoming unseeded competitors Xiy Wang and Elisabetta Cocciaretto, before being eliminated by qualifier Dayana Yastremska, who proceeded to the semi-finals.
Iga Swiatek, who won in 2020, 2022, and 2023, is the betting favorite to win the women’s draw at this year’s French Open. The Pole has won three of the last four tournaments and is on his way to dominating the clay-based competition in the same way that Rafael Nadal did.
Carlos Alcaraz is expected to win the singles after reaching a career-high semi-final in Paris last year. However, three-time winner Novak Djokovic is anticipated to give the Spaniard a run for his money.