Katie Boulter has defended Emma Navarro after the American opened up about long-term health problems that caused "deep internal anger." The Brit urged people to "stop judging" her and praised Navarro for revealing an intimate side of her life.
Responding to the American's Instagram post, Boulter said: "Another reminder to stop judging people you don't know. We rarely know the full story. So much respect [to Emma Navarro] for being so open."
Navarro's health battle
Navarro said she claimed her "life back" after diagnoses of relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) and Hashimoto's hypothyroidism hindered her progression. The American explained that she initially ignored the health issues, telling her Instagram followers: "Being new to professional tennis, I was doing what my team and I thought was best, and pushing myself to the limit was always my MO.
"And it worked. From the outside, things looked great. I continued to achieve tennis milestones that far exceeded my expectations, my ranking was rising, my level continued to improve, I continued to get faster and more athletic on the court, and I looked to be the strongest, fittest version of myself I had ever been."
Warning signs and impact
However, a 14kg drop in weight, major mood swings and extreme hunger prompted change. Navarro continued: "I was off. I was experiencing emotions I had never experienced before, at least not to this severity.
"Irritability, frustration, perfectionism, worry, and bizarrely for me, anger. I remember feeling deep internal anger on the court that week in Hobart, like I wanted to smash every racket in my bag (something I had never done or wanted to do)."
She added: "Everything began to annoy me. My team, other people, anything that didn't align with my specific preferences or routines, any imperfection on the court, every mistake, every point I lost."
