Emma Navarro has revealed the serious health problems that forced her to end her season early, including weight loss, crippling fatigue, and an inability to move or see. The 25-year-old, a one-time US Open semi-finalist, was diagnosed with RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport), where the body does not receive enough energy through food to support physical activity and daily life. Her situation was further complicated by a diagnosis of Hashimoto's disease, an autoimmune disorder where the immune system attacks and damages the thyroid gland, causing hypothyroidism.
Health Struggles and Symptoms
Navarro opened up on her health journey in a lengthy statement on Instagram, explaining that although she tried to brush off her symptoms as merely the consequences of pushing herself to her limit, they eventually became impossible to ignore. She described experiencing emotions she had never experienced before, including irritability, frustration, perfectionism, worry, and anger. She recalled feeling deep internal anger on the court in Hobart, like she wanted to smash every racket in her bag.
She also spoke about constant hunger, losing almost twenty pounds throughout 2023, and a weakening immune system. "I couldn't think straight a lot of the time, and I had trouble remembering things and articulating thoughts," she said. "My brain felt slow and tired, as did my body." She added that she had night after night of restless sleep, waking up just as tired as before, and developed rashes on her neck and scalp.
Continued Struggles and Diagnosis
Despite achieving success on the court, Navarro's life turned into a nightmare as she continued to fight a losing battle against her own body. She lost another ten pounds over the course of 2024, and after training harder than ever in the pre-season, her left quad began to give out. "I couldn't move, I couldn't see, I couldn't complete exercises in the gym that I could have months earlier," she said.
Navarro struggled even harder in 2025, even breaking down in tears at the Billie Jean King Cup out of pure frustration and helplessness. She eventually discovered that she had been under-fuelling her body for around three years and has made gradual progress after changing her diet and monitoring her health more closely.
Response and Future Plans
Hitting back at those who have commented about her recent weight gain, Navarro said: "So yeah, I gained some weight this yea, but I also gained my life back." She added that she has enough energy to seize every day, to train or compete as hard as she wants to, and to live a life outside of tennis. "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," she said.
Navarro announced she is taking the rest of the year to work on dialling in her medication and fuelling protocols, and will not be competing in Asia this year. She plans to be back on the road starting in Australia 2027.
