Jovic Defends Guadalajara Open Title, Reaches Career-High Ranking

Iva Jovic successfully defended her Guadalajara Open title on Saturday, defeating fellow American Peyton Stearns 6-4, 6-2 in the final to claim her second WTA Tour title. The 18-year-old did not drop a set throughout the tournament, capping her run with a clinical victory in one hour and 26 minutes. The decisive moment in the rain-soaked final came in the ninth game of the first set. After a tight opening where both players held serve through eight games, Jovic broke Stearns to move ahead 5-4. She then held her nerve to close out the set after 46 minutes. Jovic maintained her momentum in the second set, breaking Stearns in the opening game and consolidating to take a 2-0 lead. She broke again in the seventh game to go up 5-2 before serving out the championship. The victory marked Jovic's first successful defense of a WTA Tour-level title. She first won the Guadalajara Open in 2025 as an unseeded player, defeating Emiliana Arango in the final. This year, as the second seed, she defeated Cristina Bucsa, Zeynep Sonmez, and Magdalena Frech en route to the final. During the trophy ceremony, rain began to fall, prompting Jovic to keep her speech brief.