Iva Jovic Reaches New Career-High Ranking With Guadalajara Title Defense

The 18-year-old American beat fellow American Peyton Stearns 6-4, 6-2 in Saturday’s Guadalajara Open final. She defended the title she won there just a year ago, and secured a new career-high ranking of world No. 13 in the process. Jovic also became the first player ever to repeat as champion in Guadalajara, and she didn’t lose a single set while doing it.

Jovic Defeats Stearns to Win 2026 Guadalajara Title

Saturday’s final between Jovic and Stearns began closely contested, with both players trading points through the first eight games. Jovic finally pulled away for a 5-4 lead and served out the opening set in 46 minutes.

She carried that momentum straight into the second, breaking in the opening game to extend her run to five straight, before closing out the match on her third championship point with a backhand winner down the line. The whole match took just 1 hour and 26 minutes.

During the match, Jovic won 70.2% of her total service points (40 of 57) to Stearns’ 58.8% (30 of 51) and didn’t face a single break point while converting three of her own five chances. Jovic looked in control for most of the match, confidently claiming her second title in Guadalajara in two years.

The Trophy Ceremony

Rain began falling just as the trophy ceremony started, which cut the celebration a bit short. However, Jovic still spoke of her fondness for playing in Guadalajara, saying, “It’s amazing to be back here in the final with this beautiful trophy and this sombrero.”

She continued, “I love it here. You guys have given me so much energy. The crowd is my favorite thing about coming here, so thank you so much for being here.”

Her opponent and fellow American, Peyton Stearns, also acknowledged Jovic’s connection to Guadalajara during the ceremony: “Clearly you love Guadalajara, and Guadalajara loves you… Hopefully you keep coming back here,” she said.

Defending Her Title

Jovic’s history in Guadalajara dates back to her first career title last season, which she won there at just 17 years old. That year, she faced Colombian Emiliana Arango in the final and similarly defeated her in straight sets. This run made Jovic the youngest American to win a tour-level title since Coco Gauff in 2021, and the youngest WTA 500 winner since Martina Hingis in 1998.

Returning to the same spot a year later to win it again, and without dropping a set all tournament, gives Jovic a successful title defense in style. She also earned the distinction of becoming Guadalajara’s first repeat champion, with the tournament’s history dating back to just 2021.

Jovic Keeps Climbing the Rankings

Iva Jokvic entered Saturday’s final as the world No. 16, and her title defense helped her climb up to No. 13 as of Monday morning. This continues a standout season for the American, who reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at this year’s Australian Open and picked up her first top-10 win over Jasmine Paolini along the way.

If she can carry this level of play through the rest of the fall, Jovic is on track to finish the season with the best year-end ranking of her career.

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