Aryana Sabalenka Successfully Buried Iva Jovic's Dream at the 2026 Australian Open

JAKARTA - Aryna Sabalenka managed to stop the pace of young tennis player Iva Jovic in the 2026 Australian Open quarterfinal to get a fourth consecutive semi-final ticket at the tournament.

The world number one ended the brilliant run of the 18-year-old American in two sets 6-3 and 6-0 in less than 90 minutes at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Park, on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, morning WIB.

Sabalenka, who has collected two titles at the Australian Open and is the top seed this year, will next wait for the winner between third seed Coco Gauff versus Elina Svitolina.

Iva enjoyed an incredible run in Melbourne to become the youngest US player to reach the quarter-finals since Venus Williams was 17 in 1998.

Former world number one Novak Djokovic even praised Iva's talent. He assessed that the 18-year-old tennis player would be a title contender in the future.

"He definitely has all the ability to be a champion in the future and a number one player in the future," the 24-time Grand Slam winner said before Jovic's match against Aryna Sabalenka, quoted by BBC Sport.

Iva is currently ranked 27th in the world, so she is playing her first Grand Slam in her career as a seeded player. In fact, just 12 months ago, she was still ranked 191st in the world.

The California-born tennis player recorded his first WTA Tour title in Guadalajara, Mexico, last year which was full of breakthroughs. He also got his first WTA 125 title at the Ilkley Open.

Iva then started 2026 with a steady step. He managed to reach the semifinals in Auckland before advancing to the Hobart International final, but lost to Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

This year, Iva has won 11 matches or more than anyone else on the WTA Tour. Unfortunately, his dream of advancing to the semifinals at Melbourne Park was dashed.