Emma Navarro ends 2026 season after revealing long-running health struggles

Emma Navarro has ended her 2026 season after disclosing a prolonged struggle with relative energy deficiency in sport, known as RED-S, and Hashimoto's hypothyroidism. The American plans to return to competition in Australia in 2027, according to Tennis Now's reporting on her September 30 Instagram statement. She will miss the Asian swing while continuing to work on her recovery.

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The 25-year-old, currently ranked 24th, said her health difficulties began almost three years ago. Tennis Now reported that she received the RED-S diagnosis last autumn, with Hashimoto's hypothyroidism complicating her situation. In her account, Navarro linked the problems to decisions about training, nutrition, competition and recovery made early in her professional career, when she was pushing herself to improve.

According to BBC Sport, that period brought outward signs of sporting progress alongside symptoms she initially overlooked. Navarro described losing about 14 kilograms during 2023 and 2024, even as her results improved. She said her first WTA Tour title at Hobart came during a week when she experienced unfamiliar anger and irritability, as well as persistent hunger. Her account contrasted the appearance of fitness with how she actually felt.

The BBC reported that headaches, dizziness, fatigue and difficulty concentrating continued through 2025. After consultations with doctors, nutritionists and other specialists, Navarro said she learned she had been consuming too little fuel for almost the entire period. Her difficulties also affected the beginning of 2026: she lost nine of her opening 13 matches and withdrew from the Charleston Open at the end of March.

There were sporting successes during her return. Athlon Sports reported that Navarro won Strasbourg in May and reached the US Open quarter-finals, where Jessica Pegula ended her run. It also detailed her description of gradual health improvements as she changed her nutrition and worked with medical specialists: dizziness eased, headaches became less frequent and her emotions grew more settled.

Navarro nevertheless intends to spend the remaining months of the year refining her medication and nutrition arrangements, Athlon reported. Australia is her planned starting point for 2027, rather than a confirmed declaration of full recovery. In explaining the decision, she emphasised that regaining energy for everyday life, relationships and interests beyond tennis mattered more to her than her weight.