"I learned so much about myself during the year," says Jovic
Iva Jovic, a great hope of American tennis, won her first career title in recent months.
Jovic's meteoric rise continues week after week. The 17-year-old player, who won her first title on the main tour at the WTA 500 in Guadalajara in September, is now ranked 35th in the world.
In a recent interview, she discussed her new life on the WTA tour, her dreams in the world's biggest tournaments, and her evolution in match preparation compared to her early days.
"I talk very regularly to girls who were in Juniors, especially Tereza (Valentova), who is a very good friend of mine. Coco (Gauff) always says hello, and the other American players are really nice too. Of course, there are also the Serbians, Olga (Danilovic) and Aleksandra (Krunic).
When you train with someone, you naturally build a relationship. Sometimes they give me advice, especially about losses. They tell me not to be too frustrated after matches, because there are many tournaments, that I still have time ahead of me and that I just need to keep working to improve every day.
It's not easy. Not because of the pressure, but because I love winning and I hate losing. As soon as I lose a match, it's very difficult for me and I usually don't sleep well the following night. But there are still many matches waiting for me, I know there will be wins and losses.
I know I can't afford to constantly live these emotional roller coasters, otherwise I'll go crazy. I'm working on it and I already feel better, but I still have a lot of progress to make. My dreams at night are sometimes weird, but they're almost all about tennis.
I dream that I win a tournament, that something incredible happens. Then I wake up and say to myself: 'Oh no, I really thought that happened.' My dreams are about the big tournaments I want to win, and then I wake up feeling a little sad! But maybe it's a good omen.
Compared to what has happened since the 2024 US Open, I would say I'm more mature, and I think that's true. I learned so much about myself during the year. It helps me, especially with how I train and think.
Before, I did certain things randomly, everything was new and I had no routines. I was really nervous. But now, I feel like life on the WTA tour is normal," Jovic assured Clay.
