IVA JOVIĆ SWEPT ASIDE THE WORLD NO. 8: The Serbian-born player from the USA staged a miracle to reach the Australian Open round of 16!

World No. 8, Italian Jasmine Paolini, failed to reach the round of 16 at the Australian Open after losing in the third round to world No. 27, American Iva Jović, in straight sets, 2:6, 6:7.

Jović will face world No. 94, Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva, in the round of 16, and her match against Paolini showed that she is ready for big things and capable of pulling off a miracle in Melbourne.

The first set was almost ideal for Jović. The Serbian tennis player broke Paolini’s serve three times, while the Italian managed to respond with just one break, allowing Iva to take a quick and confident lead in the match.

The second set saw a much tougher battle. Jović was twice just a step away from victory, serving for the match at 5:4 and 6:5, but Paolini escaped both times and managed to break back.

Still, in the tie-break Jović showed composure and mental toughness, took control, and closed out the match after one hour and 25 minutes of play.

First top 10 win! ✅
First career Grand Slam second week! ✅

And she only just turned 18.

Iva Jovic is the real deal! What a player!😍👏#AusOpen #ao26 pic.twitter.com/ILYetotqRX
— til polarity's end 🎾⚡#SpallettiEra⚡⚫⚪ (@lildarkcage) January 23, 2026

Who is Iva Jović, really?

Iva Jović competes under the American flag, although both her father Bojan and mother Jelena were born in the Balkans, while she herself was born in the United States. Iva’s father was born in Leskovac, which he still visits with his daughter today, while her mother is a Serb from Split.

Many years ago, Iva’s parents moved to America, so she decided to play for that country (she herself points out that she has great support from the local federation), and not for Serbia, although there was a basis for that.

Iva also has an older sister, Mia, lives in Los Angeles, and started training tennis at just five years of age.

She comes to Serbia quite often and spends part of the year there.

“From a young age, every summer I go to Serbia for two or three months. I have family in Belgrade, then I go to Leskovac. Before tennis, before it became serious, I went there every summer,” Jović said.

Given her background, it could not be otherwise than to adore specialties from Leskovac.

“I adore Leskovac ćevapi, burek, pies.”