Ranked No.191 and debuting at Melbourne Park as a wildcard at Australian Open 2025, 17-year-old Iva Jovic spent just 90 minutes on court in a 6-0 6-3 first-round defeat to former finalist Elena Rybakina.
Twelve months on at AO 2026, the Californian is making an entirely different statement.
MORE: All the scores from Day 7 at AO 2026
Competing in just her sixth Grand Slam main draw, the world No.27 has made the most of being seeded at a major for the first time. After easing past Katie Volynets and Priscilla Hon, the fearless 29th seed toppled seventh seed Jasmine Paolini 6-2 7-6(3) in the third round on Friday, securing her maiden top 10 win and first over the Italian in three efforts.
“It feels amazing, I’ve been wanting this one for a while now and working really hard for it,” said a thrilled Jovic after avenging a straight-sets defeat to Paolini at the 2025 US Open.
“I’m just so happy to get through that barrier and get the win today.”
The American’s victory over the Italian two-time major finalist marked her WTA Tour-leading 10th of the season to date, following runs to the semifinals of Auckland’s ASB Classic and the final of the Hobart International.
The Los Angeles resident, who turned 18 in December, is the youngest daughter of immigrants from Serbia and Croatia who won the green card lottery, and a sibling to UCLA player Mia Jovic.
In practice sets against Mia in her youth, Jovic was “a little bit of a menace because I just couldn’t stand losing,” she recalled during last year’s Cincinnati Open. “Any fire is good … now I channel it into more positive directions, but before it was just me and my sister.”
A prodigious talent who earned the 14-and-under girls’ singles title at the prestigious Orange Bowl junior tournament in 2021, Jovic wasn’t always destined to play professional tennis though in hindsight, she’s pleased with the decision.
“For a long time, it was [about] getting into a great school and having a good college career, getting a good education … that was the plan, and then things just kind of took a little bit of a turn,” she said.
Fluent in both Serbian and English, the right-hander’s aggressive game has been inspired by major champions including Jannik Sinner, Monica Seles and Novak Djokovic.
“Djokovic was a big [inspiration] for me, so it’s pretty cool to be playing a tournament that he’s playing in,” she said.
The 10-time AO champion carved out time during his pursuit of a 25th major to speak with Jovic, she revealed after defeating Paolini.
“It was pretty incredible,” she said. “He gave me some very attentive tips for my game and some thing[s] I can try to incorporate into this match that I just played.”
The Serbian great’s advice to a player two decades his junior was to open up the court, not rush into shots and find some more width.
“I tried to do that, and it ended well, so I'm just going to try to keep listening to Novak.”
Jovic makes regular trips to Serbia, visiting the cities of Belgrade and Leskovac, where she has family, and her admiration for Djokovic runs a little deeper than an average American.
“You always think about those moments where you're going to meet your idols a little bit, and I think sometimes for certain people it can be a little bit deflating if they are maybe not as nice or as open as you anticipated,” she said.
Fortunately, the former world No.1 did not disappoint. “He's almost even kinder and even more attentive outside the cameras than what he's portrayed.”
“It was amazing … he's so intelligent and smart and really wants to help the younger generation so I'm really grateful.”
“Hopefully I'll speak with him more and listen to his advice.”
Though Jovic admitted in an interview with Jelena Dokic this week that she still feels like a kid, she has found her groove on one of the world’s biggest tennis stages.
“I definitely feel a little more settled now than I did last year and just feel like I belong a little bit more and I have earned my spot here,” she said.
“But I think it's always going to be crazy and [there’s] a little bit of the ‘wow’ factor because not a lot of people get to be here and do this, especially when you go from the ITFs where everything is kind of very different than here, you're just really grateful.”
Jovic likes her chances against first-time opponent Yulia Putintseva in the fourth round on Sunday, but acknowledges that the Kazakh – ranked 74 places below her career-high No.20 – presents a tricky match-up.
MORE: AO 2026 women's singles draw
But Putintseva – who didn’t face a seeded player in her first three matches – is also in unchartered territory. Although she’s reached the round of 16 or better at the three other majors, it’s Putintseva’s first time in the AO fourth round.
If all goes to plan, Jovic will bring her best as she battles for a berth in her first ever Grand Slam quarterfinal.
“Hopefully I can keep going and winning some more.”