Iva Jovic, a 16-year-old from California, became the youngest American to win a women’s main-draw match at the U.S. Open since 2000, eliminating 2023 Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linette of Poland 6-4, 6-3 on Monday.
“Surprised, but not surprised,” Jovic said about the result against someone who has been ranked in the top 20.
“I just had a plan about what I was going to do before we started, and there weren’t that many needs for crazy adjustments, because it was going well,” Jovic said. “So just kind of sticking to that.”
Katrina Scott of the U.S. was 16 when she won a match at the U.S. Open four years ago. Last year, Mirra Andreeva of Russia was 16 when she did it.
Jovic grew up participating in a bunch of sports, including soccer, gymnastics and swimming. But she gravitated to tennis, which she began learning alongside her older sister on courts built atop the apartment complex in Torrance, California, they lived in.
“I want to be the best that I can be,” Jovic said. “Just get better every day, honestly. Just keep working. I’m on a good path, but there’s a lot more to do.”
She earned a wild-card entry for the main bracket at the year’s last Grand Slam tournament by winning the U.S. Tennis Association Girls’ 18s national championship. She also paired with Tyra Grant there to take the doubles title, which gave them a wild card for women’s doubles at Flushing Meadows; the USTA granted Jovic and another American teen, Kaylan Bigun, a spot in the mixed doubles field, too.
Jovic and Grant teamed up to win junior doubles titles at the Australian Open in January and Wimbledon in July; they also were the runners-up at the French Open in June.
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