'I Gained Some Weight. But I Also Gained My Life Back': Emma Navarro Ends Her Season

A month after reaching the US Open quarterfinals, Emma Navarro is done for the year. She said Wednesday that she's taking the rest of the season off to deal with two health conditions, and plans to be back before the Australian Open in January.

In an Instagram post, Navarro said she has been diagnosed with RED-S, Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, where the body doesn't get enough energy for the physical demands placed on it, and Hashimoto's hypothyroidism, an autoimmune disorder of the thyroid that slows the metabolism.

I have learned that there is no weight on the scale or leanness in your limbs that is more valuable than your health or your well-being.

Pushing through

She described years of warning signs. Since 2023 she'd noticed more hunger and a weaker immune system, but kept going to keep up with the schedule. During her run to the 2025 Australian Open quarterfinals she had headaches, dizziness and fatigue. Doctors diagnosed her in November 2025.

That stretch included the best results of her career. In 2024 she reached the US Open semifinals, climbed to No. 8 in the world and was voted the tour's most improved player.

"Over the past year, I have gone all in. Changing my diet, increasing my energy intake," she wrote. "So yeah. I gained some weight this year. But I also gained my life back."

Her last match was the US Open quarterfinal loss to Jessica Pegula. The rest of 2026 is about getting her medication and fueling right, so she can, in her words, "feel back to 100 percent again."

It's a rare and useful thing for a top player to say this openly, in a sport where the pressure to be lean is real.