American teenager Iva Jovic claimed her first WTA Tour title on Sunday in Guadalajara and shot up the rankings as a result. Aged just 17 years and 283 days, Jovic became the youngest player to win a title on the women’s tour this season, replacing Mirra Andreeva, who was 17 years and 299 days old when she won in Dubai.
Jovic entered the WTA 500 in Guadalajara ranked down at No. 73. After storming to her maiden title, she now sits at a career-high of No. 36 in the world, just three spots behind Emma Raducanu.
The 17-year-old has long been touted as a future talent. Just a year ago, Jovic was ranked as the No. 2 junior in the world and balancing her junior career with some professional events.
She won two junior Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2024, and then made her debut in the main draw of the US Open, winning her first tour-level match before falling in the second round.
Now, Jovic has announced herself to the rest of the tour. The teenager has been plugging away on the ITF circuit this season, also playing all four Grand Slam tournaments and making appearances at some top WTA events.
And the hard work paid off in Guadalajara, where she took out No. 8 seed Camila Osorio in the second round before saving a break point to beat Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva in the quarter-finals.
Jovic took out another talented teenager, Nikola Bartunkova, in a close three-set semi-final before beating a struggling Emiliana Arango 6-4 6-1 in Sunday’s final.
Arango became unwell during the match and even threw up on court. During her victory speech, Jovic told her opponent: “”You showed so much fight and gave the people a show.
“It’s not easy to start out on tour when you’re young … but people like Emiliana make it easier and always have a smile on their face.”
Aged 17, Jovic also became the youngest American to lift a WTA Tour trophy since Coco Gauff’s Parma victory in 2021.
Fellow American tennis stars Jessica Pegula and Danielle Collins took to Instagram to congratulate the world No. 36 on her triumph, sharing photos of Jovic to their stories.
The newly-crowned Guadalajara champion is expected to be in action at the WTA 1000 in Beijing, which kicks off on September 24, where she can continue to add to her ranking tally and attempt to crack the world’s top 30.
To be the first to receive the latest tennis news, join our WhatsApp community or newsletter