WTA Merida Final Prediction: Emma Navarro vs Emiliana Arango

Emma Navarro is the only Top 10 player in the Merida Open draw. So, her appearance in the final is not a great surprise. The American’s debut match in this event was a straightforward one. She outclassed former world #14 Petra Kvitova for the loss of three games. In the quarterfinal, Navarro defeated defending champion Zeynep Sonmez 6-4 6-2 to reach her first semifinal since the 2024 US Open. And she didn’t flinch as she delivered another dazzling performance against Elina Avanesyan underlined by 22 winners and five breaks of serve. This will be her second career final. Navarro took the title in Hobart at the start of January last season in her only WTA final to date.

Emiliana Arango is the surprise package of the week. She stood above the rest in the bottom half of the draw in Merida. The Colombian made her mark right from qualifying and carried that momentum to the main draw. Three of her four matches this week lasted the full three sets. Her most impressive performance was in the quarterfinal where she beat world #40 Rebecca Sramkova 5-7 6-3 6-0. She secured her spot in the final by beating fellow qualifier Daria Saville in a three-hour marathon. Her biggest hurdle will be how quickly she’ll recover for Sunday’s final.

Navarro is the USA’s fourth-best player despite being entrenched in the world’s top 10. This just shows the amazing depth of talent in the U.S. tennis ranks. Still, one can only marvel at some of the tennis Navarro has served up this week in Merida. In the absence of higher-ranked players in the sharp end of the draw, the field was full of hungry competitors and Navarro played them off the court. She’s been moving the ball with precision and her world-class counter-punching game will overwhelm Arango. And the overall feeling is that Navarro can go up a few gears in the final. That second WTA title is hers to lose.

Prediction: Navarro in 2