Next Gen: Iva Jović
Next Gen Watch: Iva Jović
At 18, Iva Jović arrived at the AO as a promising talent. She left it as a proven one.
The American, currently ranked No. 27, reached the fourth round in her Grand Slam breakthrough, following strong results in two lead-up tournaments. Her victories over No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini and Yulia Putintseva — a player known for testing opponents’ composure — highlighted her rising confidence and control.
Jović points to the strength of her age group as a key reason behind the recent wave of teenage success.
“Even the matches we played at junior Grand Slams were a very high level… So I kind of knew that we were all going to transition well.”
Jović speaks openly about the strong camaraderie among the rising group of teenage WTA players.
“All those girls are very nice, they’re very friendly and just kind of normal off the court. There’s no weird competitiveness or jealousy.”
She’s close with Victoria Mboko, and knows Tereza Valentová and Nikola Bartůňková well from their junior careers. It’s a collective push forward, with mutual respect and encouragement at its core.
Her performance in Melbourne didn’t come out of nowhere. It was the result of steady development and a strong competitive base built through junior tournaments and the ITF circuit.
Movement and Footwork Core
Jović attributes her progress to intentional work on movement patterns and her serve.
“I worked a lot on my serve, worked a lot in my movement out of the corners, just a lot more efficient footwork patterns, getting a little bit more shape on my ball.”
Her movement allows her to neutralize pace and turn defense into attack — particularly with her backhand, a standout shot for its depth and accuracy.
Handling Pressure
Jović doesn’t hide from pressure. Instead, she navigates it with a balanced mindset.
“I would be lying to myself if I didn’t feel a little bit nervous.”
In her match against Paolini, she twice failed to serve it out, but recovered to take control in the tiebreak (Mastering the Tiebreak). Her ability to respond to setbacks may be one of her defining qualities.
“It’s a lot of ups and downs, a lot of great wins, a lot of tough losses… You have to take the hits as they come and not get too emotional about it.”
Wrap
With her backhand, movement, and court intelligence already drawing praise — and her mentality continuing to strengthen — Jović is positioning herself not just as a rising player, but as a player capable of sustaining success on the WTA Tour.
