Iva Jovic set for WTA Rankings breakthrough as rising star pays Djokovic and Seles tribute
Iva Jovic is in line to crack a new career-high in the WTA Rankings after breezing past Priscilla Hon to reach the third round of the Australian Open.
Long-recognised as one of the hottest prospects in American tennis, world No 27 Jovic is seeded at a major tournament for the first time in Melbourne, and made light work of home favourite Hon on Wednesday.
The 18-year-old and Hon had a lengthy wait to step onto the tournament’s main court, the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday, with Alex de Minaur’s win over Hamad Medjedovic taking four sets, while also being disrupted by a rain delay.
However, after making light work of qualifier Katie Volynets in the opening round, the 29th seed was in similarly emphatic form against wildcard Hon, needing just an hour and 11 minutes to seal a 6-1, 6-2 victory.
It was Jovic’s first time playing a match on the centre court of any of the four Grand Slams, and speaking in her on-court interview with Jelena Dokic, the 18-year-old revealed that she loved the experience.
She said: “It was incredible, I totally didn’t expect to play on this court, in this match, but you guys [the tournament] surprised me, and I was so happy to be out here — thank you [to] everyone who stayed out so late and made this an amazing match.
“I feel like I played good, solid tennis, just tried to be there every single point, not give her any breathing room. Thankfully, it was enough today, but I think Priscilla came up with some great tennis and made it difficult for me.
“It’s just surreal to be on this court. This is definitely what I dreamt of as a kid — I still feel like a kid.”
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Jovic has competed in the main draw of every Grand Slam at least once, and this is her second consecutive year in main draw action at the Australian Open.
This is now the first time that she has reached the third round of a Grand Slam, having previously never made it past round two at a major.
It is perhaps fitting that Jovic, who has a Serbian father, has made this breakthrough at the Australian Open — the tournament where her idols Monica Seles and Novak Djokovic achieved their greatest successes.
Asked by Dokic about comparisons to Seles in terms of her on-court presence and about her tennis inspirations, the 18-year-old paid tribute to both tennis greats.
“Yeah, I definitely had a bit of Monica Seles in there — she has a similar background as well, so I would always look up to her,” said Jovic.
“Novak Djokovic was a big one for me. It’s pretty cool to be playing in a tournament he’s playing as well. Hopefully, I get more chances to speak to him. I know he’s playing [on Thursday], but that would be pretty cool.”
Jovic’s run to the third round continues a strong start to 2026, which has seen her reach the semi-final of the Auckland Open and the final of the Hobart International.
The American sits at her current career-high of world No 27 in the WTA Rankings, though is now set to break new ground.
The 18-year-old is provisionally up three places to a new career-high of world No 24 in the WTA Live Rankings, increasing her overall points tally from 1,671 to 1,731 as things stand.
With the five women directly below Jovic in the WTA Live Rankings either absent from the event or now out of the draw, she looks well placed to crack the top 25 for the first time when the rankings update post-tournament.
She will now look to rise even further up the rankings and reach the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time when she returns to court on Friday for her round three match against Jasmine Paolini.
Seventh seed Paolini needed three sets to beat Jovic when they first met in Indian Wells last year, though won in straight sets when the two met in the second round of the US Open last September.
Two-time Grand Slam finalist Paolini has faced little trouble through her draw so far, though will be facing a much-improved Jovic when they meet in Melbourne.
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