Teenager Iva Jovic sent two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini crashing out of the Australian Open on Friday with the eighth-ranked Italian the biggest scalp of the young American’s burgeoning career. The 18-year-old was undaunted against Paolini, storming home 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) to make the last 16 at a major for the first time. She will play Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva for a place in the quarter-finals.
‘Amazing feeling’
“It feels amazing [to beat a Top 10 player]. I’ve been wanting this one for a while now and working really hard for it. I had a couple of tough losses [against Top 10 players earlier] and I’m just so happy to get through that barrier and get the win today,” the World No. 27 said, before adding she had been given some handy tips from 24-time Grand Slam-winner Novak Djokovic ahead of the match. “[He] just [told me] to open up the court a little bit better, to not rush into the shots all the time, find some more width. So I tried to do that, and it ended well. So I’m just going to try to keep listening to Novak.”
‘Couldn’t move at my best’
Meanwhile, Paolini was left to rue a decision she made before the match got underway. “I laid down on the sofa after lunch, and that wasn’t a good idea for my stomach. I stepped on the court, and I couldn’t move at my best. But I was trying to hang in there, because I knew that as the time passed, I would get better, but it wasn’t enough to turn the match,” said Paolini. In another match, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka had to dig deep to overcome Anastasia Potapova of Austria 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (9-7). The Belarusian admitted that she was “emotionally all over the place.”
How Jovic rose from 191st to 27th in one year
Iva Jovic was born in Torrence, California to a Serbian father (Bojan) and Croatian mother (Jelena) on December 6 2007. She displayed an interest in a wide variety of sports at a young age, but always had a special affinity for tennis, just like her older sister Mia, who played at the college level.
Jovic’s talent was apparent even at the junior level, evidenced by the fact she was ranked World No. 2 on the junior circuit and also won two junior Grand Slams, albeit in the doubles category (Australian Open 2024, Wimbledon 2024).
She made her professional debut as a 15 year old in 2022, but last year proved to be the turning point in her budding career. At the start of 2025, she was ranked 191st, but she went on to win the WTA 500 event in Guadalajara, Mexico and the WTA 125 event in Ilkley, UK. She also entered the main draw at all four Grand Slam events and is currently 27th.
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