Jovic Wins Charleston Open Debut Match

Iva Jovic
Iva Jovic (photo: Charleston Tennis LLC)

CHARLESTON, S.C./WASHINGTON, April 2, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

What a difference 12 months has made in the life of teenager Iva Jovic. Last year at this time, the 18-year-old American was ranked No. 150. This week, as Jovic makes her debut at the Credit One Charleston Open in the South Carolina Lowcountry, the Southern California native born to Serbian parents is ranked at a career-high No. 16. That’s quite a bounce in the rankings – but it’s tribute to the friendly and charismatic Jovic.

In the past year, after bursting on the scene at the US Open, Jovic won her first WTA 500 title at Guadalajara, Mexico, and recently made a quarterfinal run at the Australian Open – the youngest American to reach the last eight in Melbourne since Venus Williams in 1998 – both on hard courts.

Jovic, who is competing in just her third tour-level event on clay following Bogata and Roland-Garros in 2025, took center stage Wednesday morning against fellow American Alycia Parks, ranked 97th, on Credit One Stadium. She brought a 13-4 win-loss record against opponents ranked outside the Top 50 into the second-round match with the 25-year-old Parks, whom she defeated last year at Bogota – a WTA 250 event  that takes place in the South American country of Colombia the same week as the Charleston Open in the United States.

As it happened, Jovic, who already owned 15 match wins this season, added another one to her ledger with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Parks in one hour and 35 minutes on Credit One Stadium.

“It’s been incredible to watch Iva. …To see her rise [in the rankings] has been so exciting,” Tennis Channel analyst and Hall of Famer Tracy Austin said at the beginning of Wednesday’s broadcast of Jovic’s match against Parks. Among Americans, Jovic is ranked fourth, while Parks is 15th.

“I think the big difference in the last year has been her strength; she’s just so much stronger – she’s grown physically – and her forehand has become a weapon,” Austin added. “Her serve is a big weapon, too, sometimes getting over 110 miles-per-hour. Overall, her mental toughness is well beyond her years of just 18-years-old. She’s so strong mentally.”

After an exchange of service breaks in the first two games that stretched across the first 12 minutes of the match – coupled with a 12-minute-plus fifth game that included six deuce points and finally was won by Jovic after Parks muffed an overhead smash that gave the No. 4 seed a 4-1 lead – Jovic settled down and proved herself to be the smarter player in capturing the opening set 6-3.

Then, Jovic took advantage of numerous unforced errors by Parks during the second set – converting two of five break-point chances – and put away the victory on her second match-point opportunity with a forehand volley winner struck with confidence. It was the last of 10 winners and it advanced her to Thursday’s third-round.

Throughout the second-round match, Jovic controlled her nerves and took the opportunity to showcase a variety of her skills on the green clay that is synonymous with the Charleston Open. She looked comfortable in all facets of her game. Jovic hit 10 winners, saved eight of nine break points, converted four of 12 break-point chances and outpointed Parks 72-54. Although Parks hit 19 winners, she also made 42 unforced errors.

“Right now, I’m a lot about variety,” Jovic told reporters during her pre-tournament media meet and greet at LTP Daniel Island on Monday. “A lot about mixing in some different plays, especially on the clay. It’s slower. You need to find different ways of getting people off the court, maybe some slices, maybe some more angles playing around with your serve a little bit more. Different spins, different return positions. Just being a little bit more unpredictable.”

During her on-court interview after defeating Parks, Jovic thanked the Charleston crowd for its support. “Honestly, this is one of the most incredible tournaments I’ve gotten to be a part of. I’m motivated to keep winning. My motivation comes from wanting to play more matches here in Charleston,” she said.

On Thursday evening, in a featured night session match on Credit One Stadium, Jovic will get her chance to play another Charleston match when she takes on No. 16 seed and fellow American Sofia Kenin for a berth in the quarterfinals.

An afternoon of American success on Credit One Stadium

Jovic’s victory set the stage for what turned out to be an afternoon of American success on Credit One Stadium. That’s because No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula and No. 5 seed Madison Keys, both former Charleston Open champions, played their first matches of the tournament – and each emerged with satisfying victories.

First, Pegula began defense of her Credit One Charleston Open title – her first title on clay – by grinding out a three-hour-plus, three-set victory over No. 72 Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, on Credit One Stadium to advance against No. 14 seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy.

In the second-longest match of the tournament at three hours and 10 minutes, Pegula garnered her 20th victory of the season – third most on the WTA Tour – by hitting 54 winners and overcoming 49 unforced errors against Putintseva while converting seven of 18 break points. She outpointed her opponent 121-114.

“I think it’s an honor, it’s a privilege to come back as a defending champion. Not many people get to do that,” Pegula said earlier this week during her pre-tournament news conference.

“At the same time, it’s like, ‘Oh, I have to win it again, or someone else is going to be the champion.’ I think it’s a balance of being happy to be back, but there’s maybe a little bit more pressure. You can look at the positive or negative sides. I try not to think about it too much. I think as players, we’re always aware that every week is a new week, a new winner. You can’t expect to win every single week. You just look at it as a new tournament, a new day, a new match.”

According to the WTA Tour website, Pegula is now 7-1 in deciding sets this season and 16-4 since last year’s US Open. It was the longest tour-level victory of the American No. 2’s career.

Afterward, during her on-court interview, a relieved Pegula said: “All I could think was, ‘Welcome to clay-court season.’ Oh my God, it’s my first match on clay. Kudos to Yulia. She’s a really tricky opponent, especially on clay. She can be really crafty, use high balls, low balls, slices, drop shots, and I felt like she was just honestly toying with me there for quite a while. I’m not really sure how I found my way back. In the third, there were so many back-and-forth moments as well.”

Later, Keys faced 115th-ranked qualifier Donna Vekic of Croatia and was sharp in her 6-2, 6-3 victory that she completed in 73 minutes to wrap up the afternoon session on Credit One Stadium.

Making her 13th appearance in the South Carolina Lowcountry – and winner of the 2019 Charleston Open – Keys hit 23 winners to 14 unforced errors en route to beating Vekic for the fifth time in six lifetime meetings while collecting her ninth win of the 2026 season. It was also her 22nd career win at the Charleston Open.

“I let Jess have the drama for the day and I kept it a little less dramatic for me,” Keys said, smiling during her on-court interview. “I knew I had to play really good tennis today; Donna is a fantastic player.”

Later, during her news conference, Keys summed up her feelings, saying: “Pretty happy overall, I think. Getting off to a really good start with a couple of breaks, and I think I served really well. And, overall, not a whole lot of things to be upset about today.”

Now a win away from reaching her third quarterfinal of the season, Keys will face Anna Bondar of Hungary in the third round on Thursday afternoon.

Around the Charleston Open

No. 2 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia withdrew from the tournament Wednesday afternoon, citing a lower back injury suffered at the recent Miami Open that requires more treatment.

“Charleston is one of my favorite weeks of the year, so. I’m sad that I won’t be able to play in front of the fans tonight,” the World No. 13 Alexandrova said in a statement. 

With Alexandrova’s withdrawal, the match between No. 16 seed Sofia Kenin of the United States, last year’s finalist, and 140th-ranked wild card Bianca Andreescu was moved from Althea Gibson Club Court into Credit One Stadium to begin the Wednesday night session.

It took four match points but the 47th-ranked Kenin finally prevailed, 6-4, 6-4, in one hour and 36 minutes. She struck 23 winners to 15 unforced errors, converted three of seven break points and outpointed Andreescu 67-60. It marked just the second time Kenin has beaten Andreescu and the first since 2019. The victory broke an eight-match losing streak for Kenin, who was winless since defeating Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania in her first match of the 2026 season at Brisbane in January.

Meanwhile, Alexandrova’s place in the main draw was filled by 104th-ranked lucky loser Ekaterine Gorgodze of Georgia, who took on 89th-ranked Yuliia Starodubtseva of Ukraine, making her tournament debut this year. The Gorgodze-Starodubtseva match was moved to Althea Gibson Club Court and was won by Starodubtseva, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, in one hour and 59 minutes. 

Later, World No. 33 and 15th seed Hailey Baptiste of the United States, who was coming off a surprising quarterfinal run in Miami, was upset by No. 85 Renata Zarazua of Mexico, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in two hours and 47 minutes to close out the night session on Credit One Stadium. The 71-minute final set included a nearly-20-minute 24-point final game, in which Zarazua finally put away the second-round victory on her seventh match-point opportunity to advance against Starodubtseva.

Other Wednesday winners:

• No. 9 seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada advanced to the third round with a 75-minute, 6-2, 6-1 victory over qualifier Polina Kudermetova of Uzbekistan. The No. 24 Fernandez saved all three break points she faced from the 156-ranked Kudermetova and outpointed her 64-41. On Thursday, Fernandez will face World No. 19 and seventh seed Diana Shnaider of Russia in the third round.

• No. 10 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece fell to 113th-ranked wild card Paula Badosa of Spain, 6-3, 6-4, on Althea Gibson Club Court. Badosa won for the second straight day by saving both break points she faced, while breaking the 36th-ranked Sakkari’s serve four times in 11 tries. Badosa outpointed Sakkari 67-51. Next, she will face World No. 22 and eighth seed Anna Kalinskaya of Russia in the third round on Thursday.

• No. 53 McCartney Kessler of the United States, who was named to the U.S. team for next week’s Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers against Belgium, advanced to the third round with her 6-2, 6-1 upset victory over No. 12 seed Janice Tjen of Indonesia in 73 minutes on Althea Gibson Club Court. It’s her third win in her last four matches and marked the fifth-straight loss at tour-level for the 41st-ranked Tjen (5-10).

Kessler (7-6 tour-level, 9-7 all competitions) converted five of nine break-point opportunities and outpointed Tjen 62-42. Next, Kessler will face No. 17 seed Peyton Stearns, who handled No. 103 Ashlyn Krueger, 7-6 (8), 7-5, in an all-American battle that lasted two hours and six minutes on Althea Gibson Club Court. The 46th-ranked Stearns broke Krueger’s serve four times in five tries and outpointed her 87-81.

• No. 11 seed Magdalena Frech of Poland was upset by 68th-ranked Hungarian Anna Bondar, 7-5, 6-3, in one hour and 55 minutes on Court 3. Bondar broke the 38th-ranked Frech’s serve six times in 13 attempts and outpointed her opponent 80-70. Later Bondar and Frech teamed in a quarterfinal doubles match and rallied to upset No. 2 seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Anna Panova of Russia, 2-6, 7-5, 10-2, in one hour and 38 minutes on Court 3. 

• No. 14 seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy advanced with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over 121st-ranked lucky loser Yuan Yue of China in one hour and 37 minutes on Court 3. Cocciaretto (16-5 in all competitions) dropped just seven points on her first serve and converted six of 13 break points. She outpointed Yuan 77-51 to advance into Thursday’s third round against No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula of the United States.

Later, in doubles, Cocciaretto and Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Hao-Ching Chan and Fang-Hsieh Wu of Taiwan in one hour and 13 minutes on Court 3.

• Also, No. 4 seeds Miyu Kato of Japan and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico advanced to the doubles semifinals with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Jennifer Brady of the United States and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand, in 58 minutes on Althea Gibson Club Court.

Wednesday’s Charleston Open results

Thursday’s Charleston Open order of play

By the numbers

Defending champion Jessica Pegula of the United States is a three-time WTA 500 champion. She has won titles at Berlin (2024), Charleston (2025) and Bad Homburg (2025). Last year, Pegula won titles on all three main surfaces (hard court, clay and grass).

“Quotable …”

“I love the city. I feel people are very friendly. For all the players, I feel like it’s very cozy here. So, you feel less pressure. … It’s more peaceful.”

– No. 8 seed Anna Kalinskaya of Russia, during her post-match news conference Tuesday, after advancing to the third round with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria.

 

Search

Brigitte Urban
Tennis photographer
camera lens

International Blogs

Michael Dickens

Once-In-A-Lifetime Photograph Of Jasmine Paolini Tells A Great Story

December 29, 2025

Marc Raffel

2026 wieder Herren-Weltklassetennis in Troisdorf

December 19, 2025

Dietmar Kaspar

TC Augsburg startet neu strukturiert mit großen Ambitionen in die 1. Bundesliga

December 12, 2025

Florian Heer

Björn Kroll beim Hamburg Ladies & Gents Cup: “Wir möchten unseren Spielern eine gute Plattform bieten!”

October 26, 2025

Podcast

Categories