The Eyes Have It: 18-Year-Old Jovic Revels in Deep-Think Approach

TEEN SENSATION TAKING TIPS FROM DJOKOVIC, AGASSI   

Her hazel-hued, saucer eyes are the giveaway.

Unblinking, intense, ever-alert; you just know there’s a whole lot going on below the surface. The wheels are turning. If her first-strike, take-the-ball-on-the-rise athleticism; her uncanny ability to redirect power; her ahead-of-her-years, big-points composure aren’t enough, 18-year-old Iva Jovic is going to do her best to outthink you on the court.

The Southern Californian’s opponents witnessed that up close and in person earlier this year at the Australian Open, where Jovic became the youngest American to reach the quarterfinals since Venus Williams in 1998. Before falling to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the elite eight, 6-3, 6-0, she hadn’t dropped a single set.

Jovic may have come off as wide-eyed in Melbourne when she met the 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, with whom she shares Serbian roots (parents Bojan and Jelena hail from Leskovac, Serbia). But you can bet the Torrance teen was taking mental notes.

“What he’s done on the court, people probably thought impossible, right?” asked Jovic ahead of the Credit One Charleston Open, where she’s making her tournament debut as the youngest player in the field. “It’s unbelievable what he’s done as a player. But the most impressive thing to me is just him as a person, everything he does that makes him a good tennis player. A lot of it is off the court. He’s doing a lot of things to calm his mind, to be a better, more well-rounded person. More than in those moments on the court, that’s what makes him better, because there are such fine margins in tennis.”

“He’s doing all these things that I think a lot of players don’t even know about,” continued Jovic, who’s matched up against countrywoman Alycia Parks in the second round on Daniel Island. “He meditates a lot. He just knows himself very well. I’ve started to make some changes in my own routines, as well, trying to incorporate as much as I can from people like Novak. Obviously, you just need to find what works well for you.”

“I’ve started to make some changes in my own routines, as well, trying to incorporate as much as I can from people like Novak.” — Iva Jovic

Hall of Famer Andre Agassi is another figure Jovic has learned from, which says a lot considering the Las Vegan retired the year before she was born.

“Andre is a special guy, and I think the way he talks about tennis is fascinating,” she said. “It’s obvious that he’s a very, very smart individual. It’s very calculated, like a chess match the way he speaks about the game. It’s very cool. Hopefully, I can speak with him in the future.”

In addition to her success in Melbourne Park, Jovic also reached the Hobart final and Auckland semifinals to start 2026, all of which helped her crack the Top 20 in the PIF WTA Rankings. As she continues to add to her arsenal, to reimagine her regimen, that rise will very likely continue.

“I’ve recently had a lot of talks with myself, my team about ways I can maximize my training. I think it’s really about finding how can I get better every single day,” she said. “It’s hard at these tournaments, because there’s more people, it’s only an hour on the court. It’s so much easier when you’re at home, when you’re just on the court and fully in practice mode. I need to find a way to train through these events better. I really need to be working on things during tournaments because there’s just no more time for pure training blocks like there was back in the day.”

Yes, the wheels are turning.