World's second-richest tennis star at Wimbledon speaks out about billionaire dad
Emma Navarro is determined to shake off the 'billionaire heiress' tag that has followed her throughout her tennis career. And she has set her sights on a maiden Grand Slam at Wimbledon triumph to cement her status through talent alone.
The 24-year-old has once again advanced to the second round at SW19 following her victory over Petra Kvitova in her farewell Wimbledon appearance. Navarro is now gearing up to take on Veronika Kudermetova in the second round on Thursday.
Huge attention has been drawn to the fact that Navarro's dad, Ben, boasts a £3.5billion fortune, per Forbes. But the American is desperate to ensure her parents' legacy doesn't define her as she continues to establish herself as one the best players on the WTA Tour.
Navarro is focused on demonstrating her worth on the court and already has huge wins, having dumped Coco Gauff from Wimbledon last year. She reached her first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open in 2024, but she is still chasing that maiden major title.
The New York-born athlete has a firm belief in her own abilities and a desire to be recognised for sporting prowess above her family wealth. And Navarro knows her tennis is good enough to do the talking.
"I don't read anything. I don't read the comments, the articles, any of that stuff," she told Tatler magazine (via Daily Express). "There will be headlines and they kind of mention that [her father's billionaire status] which is fine, but I didn't grow up being handed things. We grew up in a sort of traditional way.
"We'd get up at 6am on a Saturday morning and go play tennis...growing up it was a priority that we learnt toughness and we learnt work ethic and how to be intentional and purposeful and live productive lives so I don't love being referred to as whoever with however-much-money's daughter. It's a label I don't really like."
Navarro is second only to Jessica Pegula in terms of the wealthiest active players in the game. Pegula's father, Terry, has an estimated fortune of £5.5bn, a significant portion of which will inevitably be passed down to his daughter.
And like Navarro, Pegula will have several siblings she'll likely have to split that sum with. However, even a fraction of the figure would still represent a sizeable nest egg.
In that sense, it's impressive that one should pursue a career as gruelling as that of an elite tennis player. Most people born into the kind of privileged upbringing Navarro has enjoyed would prefer to sit back and enjoy their inheritance, but the South Carolina resident has bigger goals in mind.
Despite her father's immense wealth, Navarro has made a name for herself on the WTA Tour. And the prospect has already earned herself a respectable £3.4million on the WTA Tour to date.
That includes two tournament victories in the last 18 months. She broke her WTA duck by winning the Hobart International in January 2024, then added the Merida Open to her collection in March 2025.
She also reached the quarter-finals of this year's Australian Open before being knocked out by Iga Swiatek. And the building blocks are in place for her to join the ranks of major winners and prove she truly belongs.
Navarro is so committed to her career that she has even put romance on the back burner to focus solely on her tennis. However, she's not opposed to the idea of leaving her single status behind as she added: "Tennis is it, for now. We'll see. My heart's open, let's put it that way."
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