Emma Navarro vs. Anna Kalinskaya — US Open 2026 Fourth-Round Match Report
Emma Navarro and Anna Kalinskaya spent much of this match testing each other from the backhand side.
Navarro won that battle with flying colors.
The American was cleaner, more patient and far less wasteful in the exchanges that gradually shaped a 6-4, 6-2 victory and sent her into an all-American US Open quarterfinal against Jessica Pegula.
Kalinskaya could live with Navarro’s level for most of the opening set.
What she could not live with was the difference in mistakes.
Navarro finished with only 10 unforced errors.
Kalinskaya made 32.
That gap eventually swallowed the match.
The First Set Refuses to Move Until the Very End
With a deep breath, Navarro stepped onto the roller coaster. She won the point, and the race was on.
For nine games, neither woman could create separation.
Navarro held for 1-0.
Kalinskaya answered.
The pattern continued all the way through 4-4, with both players protecting serve and neither able to force the first real shift.
Navarro then held for 5-4.
That left Kalinskaya serving to stay in the set.
Only then did the first break arrive.
Navarro pressured the game, reached set point and converted to take the opener 6-4.
One break.
Right at the end.
After such an even set, it was a particularly expensive moment for Kalinskaya to lose control of her serve.
Set 1 at a Glance
- Navarro didn’t commit a single double fault (0) compared with Kalinskaya’s 4, and won 88% of her second-serve points (7 of 8).
- Navarro won her only break point of the set (1 of 2), while Kalinskaya never converted one.
- Navarro closed out the set 29 to 22 on total points, backed by 3 aces to Kalinskaya’s 1.
Full Set 1 Stats
| Kalinskaya | Statistic | Navarro |
|---|---|---|
| Set 1 Duration: 0h36m | ||
| 0.50 | Dominance Ratio | 2.00 |
| 7 | Winners | 9 |
| 13 | Unforced Errors | 4 |
| 262 | Serve Rating | 339 |
| 1 | Aces | 3 |
| 4 | Double Faults | 0 |
| 52% (14/27) | 1st Serve % | 67% (16/24) |
| 71% (10/14) | 1st Serve Points Won | 81% (13/16) |
| 62% (8/13) | 2nd Serve Points Won | 88% (7/8) |
| 50% (1/2) | Break Points Saved | – (0/0) |
| 32 | Return Rating | 137 |
| 19% (3/16) | 1st Return Points Won | 29% (4/14) |
| 13% (1/8) | 2nd Return Points Won | 38% (5/13) |
| – (0/0) | Break Points Won | 1/2 |
| 22 | Total Points Won | 29 |
Navarro Takes Control Earlier in the Second
The second set opened with one of the longest service games of the match.
Navarro eventually held for 1-0 after repeatedly being pushed back to deuce.
Kalinskaya levelled.
Navarro held again for 2-1.
Then the match began to tilt. Kalinskaya grew increasingly negative with herself, and missing an easy overhead seemed to start the rot.
Kalinskaya was broken for 3-1, and Navarro consolidated for 4-1.
A second break pushed the lead to 5-1.
Kalinskaya briefly interrupted the run by breaking Navarro for 5-2, but there was no comeback.
Serving to stay in the match, she was broken once more.
6-2.
The first set had required patience.
The second required Navarro to recognize when Kalinskaya’s resistance had started to crack.
She did.
Set 2 at a Glance
- Navarro won 67% of pressure points (12 of 18) against Kalinskaya’s 33% (6 of 18), the biggest gap on the page.
- Navarro converted 3 of 4 break chances while saving 5 of 6 herself, a dominant break-point performance on both ends.
- Navarro closed the set 34 to 27 on total points, with 19 unforced errors from Kalinskaya against just 6.
Full Set 2 Stats
| Kalinskaya | Statistic | Navarro |
|---|---|---|
| Set 2 Duration: 0h45m | ||
| 0.79 | Dominance Ratio | 1.26 |
| 10 | Winners | 6 |
| 19 | Unforced Errors | 6 |
| 152 | Serve Rating | 236 |
| 1 | Aces | 3 |
| 5 | Double Faults | 1 |
| 48% (13/27) | 1st Serve % | 56% (19/34) |
| 69% (9/13) | 1st Serve Points Won | 63% (12/19) |
| 14% (2/14) | 2nd Serve Points Won | 40% (6/15) |
| 25% (1/4) | Break Points Saved | 83% (5/6) |
| 139 | Return Rating | 267 |
| 37% (7/19) | 1st Return Points Won | 31% (4/13) |
| 60% (9/15) | 2nd Return Points Won | 86% (12/14) |
| 1/6 | Break Points Won | 3/4 |
| 27 | Total Points Won | 34 |
The Backhand Exchanges Keep Falling Navarro’s Way
This was not a match dominated by outright winners.
Kalinskaya actually finished with slightly more, 17 to 15.
The difference was what happened between those attacking moments.
Navarro repeatedly stayed in the backhand exchanges long enough to make Kalinskaya hit another ball.
And another.
Too often, the error eventually came from the other side.
The overall unforced-error count was brutal:
Navarro 10. Kalinskaya 32.
That 22-error difference explains far more about the match than the winner totals.
Navarro did not need to overwhelm Kalinskaya.
She needed to remain solid while the rallies developed.
In the backhand battle especially, she did that exceptionally well.
Kalinskaya’s Second Serve Becomes a Target
Navarro also found a clear route through Kalinskaya’s second serve.
Navarro won 63 percent of second-serve return points.
That difference repeatedly gave Navarro an immediate foothold in return games.
Kalinskaya also committed nine double faults, compared with only one from Navarro.
The contrast became particularly damaging once the second set began to move.
Navarro converted four of six break points overall and lost serve only once.
Her own first serve was considerably more dependable, producing six aces and helping her win 71 percent of first-serve points.
Ten Errors Tell the Story
Navarro’s dominance ratio of 1.34 against Kalinskaya’s 0.74 reflects a match that became increasingly one-sided without ever looking spectacularly explosive.
That was the strength of Navarro’s performance.
She did not need spectacular.
Navarro just needed control.
She won 63 of the 112 points, protected her second serve far better and won 13 of the 20 pressure points.
Most importantly, she refused to donate points.
Ten unforced errors across two sets gave Kalinskaya almost no assistance.
Against an opponent who eventually produced more than three times that number, Navarro’s discipline became a weapon in itself.
Pegula Awaits in an All-American Quarterfinal
Navarro’s next stop is Jessica Pegula.
That guarantees an American semifinalist from this section of the draw.
It also brings together two players who have reached the quarterfinals in very different ways but with the same underlying efficiency: neither has needed to produce reckless tennis to advance.
Against Kalinskaya, Navarro’s backhand was the dominant shot in the matchup.
She repeatedly took control of those cross-court exchanges, absorbed Kalinskaya’s pace and redirected the ball with greater depth and consistency. The longer they traded from that wing, the more often Navarro came out on top.
By the second set, her backhand was not merely holding up under pressure.
It was dictating the match.
By the end, Kalinskaya had blinked far too often.
Navarro had won the backhand battle hands down.
Now comes Pegula.