IVA JOVIĆ WROTE HISTORY: American woman of Serbian origin won the tournament and entered the Top 100 at only 17 years old!

The new WTA list brings a special change. Iva Jović defeated Rebecca Marino in the final of the WTA 125 tournament in Ilkley, and history was written.

This is the biggest trophy in her career, and Iva Jović climbed to 89th place on the WTA list, becoming the youngest player in the Top 100.

This 17-year-old tennis hope already plays equally well on all surfaces and has won titles on grass, clay, and hard courts so far.

“It’s incredible, I’m just happy that I managed to play so many good matches this week. I had tough duels at the beginning of the tournament, but in the end, I found my game. Grass suits me completely naturally. I really hope to get into the main draw at Wimbledon, that’s my dream,” said Iva Jović.

She admires Belinda Bencic and Novak Djokovic the most, she is scheduled to play Wimbledon qualifiers, but there is increasing talk about the possibility of her receiving a special invitation.

As for Serbian tennis players, Olga Danilović is 37th in the world, Nina Stojanović is 173rd, and Lola Radivojević is 174th on the planet.

Who is Iva Jović?

Her parents, Bojan and Jelena, moved to America from Serbia, she lives in Los Angeles, and started playing tennis at the age of five.

Jović won the girls’ 14s singles title at the Orange Bowl in December 2021. She was the runner-up at the inaugural International Junior Championships held during the Indian Wells Open in March 2023, where she was defeated in the final by Clervie Ngounoue.

Iva Jović and her compatriot Tyra Grant won the doubles at the Orange Bowl in Plantation, Florida, in 2022 and repeated the success in 2023, defeating the top seeds, the Czech pair Alena Kovačková and Laura Samsonová.

Grant, Jović, and Hamilton were part of the victorious American team at the Junior Billie Jean King Cup in 2023, winning the tournament without losing a set. In her singles matches, Jović lost a total of 26 games in 12 sets played.

With Grant, she won the final of the girls’ doubles draw at the Australian Open 2024. The pair did not drop a set in the tournament. The pair also reached the final of the girls’ doubles at the French Open 2024. Jović and Grant won the girls’ doubles title at Wimbledon in 2024.

This is how she spoke about her origin.

She emphasizes that she strives to get closer to her role models through hard work.

-I love Djokovic and Belinda Bencic. We all know how great Novak is, and Belinda moves great and catches the ball early, I wish I could do that too – said Iva.

When asked if she had already had the opportunity to meet the best tennis player of all time, she replied:

-I have a selfie, it doesn’t look great, but we haven’t formally met.

Iva has Serbian roots – her father is from Leskovac, which is why she often comes to our country.

-Every summer I come, I have a grandmother, grandfather, close family. Belgrade is nice. We go to Zemun, to Ada.

It happens that she also speaks Serbian on the court.