18-year-old Iva Jovic is already beginning to break records. She hadn't played at the Australian Open before 2025, and she only made the second round then. In fact, while she has played at every major at least once now, she hadn't made it past the second round at any of them. Until now.
Jovic hasn't just been brushing past her opponents in Melbourne in 2026; she's been dominating them. Through her first four matches, she has yet to drop a match. She is the youngest player to do that since Venus Williams accomplished the feat in 1998. The difference between Williams and Jovic could be in what comes next.
Williams lost her quarterfinal match to Lindsay Davenport in three sets. Should Jovic do one better than what Williams did and win her quarterfinal match, she will completely claim her spot as being an extremely dangerous player now and well into the future.
Iva Jovic is serving notice at the Australian Open but her next challenge will be her greatest
That is because the young American will take on WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian has reached the final in Melbourne in each of the past three years, and took the title in 2023 and 2024. She is currently the heavy favorite to win her third Aussie Open crown.
24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic would certainly not be surprised if Jovic defeated Sabalenka. Djokovic recently said he thinks the American is a future WTA No. 1, and he gave her some advice about her game. She already has the raw skills to be excellent, and with a few tweaks to her game, she could be elite.
Djokovic said in an on-court interview during the first week of the Australian Open, "I got to know Iva last year for the first time. She is so young, and she is already making great strides in the rankings and some great results...I really like her, she is a great girl and a really nice family. I feel more emotionally connected to her because of her Serbian background. She has all the tools to be the future champion and future number one, so that’s exactly what I wish for her."
Iva Jovic is already ranked inside the top 30. She also has a title, after winning the WTA 500 Guadalajara Open last September. She reached the final of the Hobart International ahead of the Australian Open, but lost in straight sets.
Still, with every passing match in Melbourne, Jovic is gaining more experience and, more importantly, more confidence. Nothing would help her continued belief in herself more than defeating Sabalenka. She would not only prove to herself that she is ready to compete for the top 10, but she would serve notice to the rest of the tour that she is ready to do so as well.