'Contender' Iva Jovic earns Grand Slam seed for first time at 2026 Australian Open

She’s come pretty far already.

The Southern California native had a stellar junior career, winning the USTA’s Billie Jean King Girls' 18s Nationals to earn a main-draw wild card at the 2024 US Open—where she defeated world No. 42 Magda Linette of Poland for her first tour-level victory. She was the youngest player in the tournament that year.

Last year, Jovic became the season's youngest tour-level champion by capturing the Guadalajara title in September. At 17 years, 283 days old, it made her the youngest American to win a tour-level singles title since two-time major winner Coco Gauff in 2021.

Jovic’s autumn momentum, combined with a solid offseason spent shoring up her body and experimenting with small equipment and technique changes, has fueled a strong beginning to 2026.

The rising American star nearly lifted a second WTA title in four months on Saturday, but Jovic fell, 6-4, 6-4, to 80th-ranked qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the Hobart International final. Jovic also reached the Auckland semifinal last week to run her January record to 7-2.

“She’s had an amazing start to the year,” says her coach Thomas Gutteridge, who has worked with Jovic since she was 14 as part of the USTA’s Player Development program.

Jovic says the recent offseason was also a time to experiment while building her base for the grueling tennis calendar. She toyed with different strings and explored some “tiny tweaks” on her grip, including a larger butt cap.

“It helps me hold the racket a little firmer, and it feels crisper off the contact,” she says.

The physical work left her feeling confident about her overall progress.

“I think that I'm definitely moving more like a professional now, whereas before I was a little bit more in the junior mentality with my strength and everything,” she says.

Jovic is learning to better manage the vicissitudes of tour life, with daily stresses, early flights, and late-night match finishes.

“Before we would have seen probably a drop off way before the final,” says Gutteridge.

Jovic agrees.

“Honestly, I feel like I'm learning something every day… You can't get too wrapped up in the highs and the lows because there's just so many of them throughout the weeks and throughout the day. I’m trying to just take the hits as they come and accept whatever's coming your way.”

A year ago, Jovic reached the Australian Open’s second round after earning a main-draw place by winning the USTA's Wild Card Challenge—a feat she repeated for Roland Garros. She didn’t play any lead-up events beforehand to comply with the WTA’s age-eligibility rules that limit the number of events younger players can enter. Still, she reached the second round.

This year, she says she’s coming in more settled.

“When you're the wild card, you're kind of just looking around and not sure what's going on and if you should even be here,” she says.

She expects a tough match against 94th-ranked Californian Volynets, who is six years older and was “nice enough” to hit with her when she was a junior, notes Jovic with a chuckle.

Though she’s navigating the transition from teen to adult—and from promising pro to top-tier contender—Jovic does admit to feeling mature for her age when it comes to the number of places she’s visited.

“There's not a lot of 18-year-olds that can say they've been to as many countries and seen as many things as I have and I think that's really special,” she says.

No doubt, the passport stamps will keep coming. And, it seems, Jovic is poised for longer stays wherever she lands.

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