Emma Navarro reveals health diagnoses as she misses Asian swing to recover

Emma Navarro has disclosed a prolonged struggle with her health, saying she is recovering after being diagnosed with relative energy deficiency in sport and, later, Hashimoto's hypothyroidism. BBC Sport reported the American's account of her experience, shared in an Instagram post. She is missing the Asian swing as part of her recovery ahead of next season.

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The 25-year-old said the difficulties had affected her for three years, even while her results suggested she was thriving. According to the BBC, she was diagnosed with relative energy deficiency in sport, known as RED-S, towards the end of 2025 and subsequently learned she also had the autoimmune disorder. She described consulting doctors, nutritionists and other specialists before recognising that she had been under-fuelling for almost the entire period.

Navarro said she lost approximately 14kg during 2023 and 2024. As a newcomer to professional tennis, she and her team had believed that pushing her physical limits was the right approach. Her improving ranking, movement and results helped obscure the problems: she was surpassing her own expectations while struggling with symptoms that were not apparent from her performances alone.

Her account included the emotional difficulties surrounding her first WTA Tour title at the Hobart International. Rather than simply enjoying that breakthrough, she recalled unusually intense frustration and anger, alongside persistent hunger. She said mistakes, disruptions to routines and interactions with people around her became harder to tolerate, although she tried to conceal how she felt. During 2025, her symptoms included headaches, dizziness, difficulty thinking clearly, fatigue, anxiety and changes in mood.

The BBC reported that the health problems contributed to a difficult start to 2026, when Navarro lost nine of her first 13 matches and withdrew from the Charleston Open at the end of March. She later won the Strasbourg Open in May, her first title in more than a year. Currently ranked 24th, she had reached eighth in 2024, the season in which she made the US Open semi-finals.

Navarro said she has gained weight this year and now has more energy for training, competition and life away from tennis. She described that improvement as regaining her life. Her absence from the Asian tournaments comes as she continues that recovery, with preparations for next season forming the focus of her update.