Mariano Navone's US Open Journey and Girlfriend Revealed
Mariano Navone is tearing through the US Open draw and dragging his private life into the spotlight with him.
The 24-year-old Argentinian stunned the tournament by knocking out Novak Djokovic in the first round, then backed it up with a composed win over Matteo Berrettini in round two. Next up is a clash with fellow Argentine Tomás Martín Etcheverry on September 4, the biggest match of his career in what is already his deepest run in New York.
He is still chasing a first Grand Slam title. Until this week, he was a name for tennis obsessives and insiders. Now he is front-page material, and with that comes a familiar question: who is the man off the court, and who is sharing this sudden rise with him?
A win, a phone call, and a quiet confirmation
Navone answered that himself after his seismic opening-round victory over Djokovic.
“I don't want to get too emotional, but… it's going to be quite a night,” he told reporters. “In a little while, I'll call my sisters, my girlfriend, everyone. It's just crazy, but I'm truly happy, so happy about this.”
No fanfare. No big reveal. Just a matter-of-fact acknowledgement in the middle of the biggest night of his professional life: yes, Mariano Navone has a girlfriend.
Who is Julieta Villarreal Cerezo?
Her name is Julieta Villarreal Cerezo, and while Navone’s social media presence is dominated by training clips, match photos, and tour life, she has appeared in his feed at key moments.
In February 2025, he posted a birthday tribute to her on Instagram. Written in Spanish, the message, in rough translation, called her an “unconditional love,” “a companion like no other,” and praised her for making an excellent chocotorta, before signing off with a warm “I love you so much—here's to more coffee and little trips.”
It was not the first time she featured there. He had also shared a birthday post for her in February 2024, a sign that this is no whirlwind romance born out of a single hot run at a Slam, but a relationship that predates his New York breakthrough.
The exact start of their relationship is not publicly known, and both have kept the details of their private life largely out of the spotlight. What is clear is that she has been part of the journey long before the Djokovic upset made his name global.
A career built around sport
Cerezo’s own career sits close to the world Navone now inhabits.
According to her professional profile, she works as a senior communications analyst in the marketing department at Asociación Argentina de Polo, a role she has held since 2024. Before that, she spent five years, from 2019 to 2024, in the press and communications department at Asociación Argentina de Tenis.
That overlap with the national tennis federation offers an obvious, if unconfirmed, path for how their lives might have crossed. While there is no official timeline on when they started dating, the shared orbit of Argentine tennis is difficult to ignore.
As Navone walks into the noise and glare of Arthur Ashe and the global stage, the picture away from the court is quieter but no less significant: a long grind to this moment, a partner rooted in the same sporting world, and a phone full of calls to make once the night’s work is done.
