SAN DIEGO – (August 11, 2024) – Playing spectacular tennis on the final day of the 2024 USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s and 18s National Championships, third-seeded Iva Jovic swept the 18s singles and doubles titles on a warm afternoon at Barnes Tennis Center.
The 16-year-old Jovic from Torrance, Calif., met fifth-seeded Valerie Glozman of Bellevue, Wash., in the singles final and quickly set the tone in the match as she broke Glozman in the opening game with a beautiful cross-court backhand winner on break point.
Jovic would go on to build a commanding 4-1 lead in the first set, but Glozman fought back to even the score at 4-4. Jovic went on to win the set in an entertaining tiebreaker that kept fans on the edge of their seats.
In the second-set, Jovic scored a critical service break in the seventh game to take a 5-3 lead and then served out the title match for a 7-6 (6), 6-3 victory in two-hours and three-minutes.
Following the match, Jovic was presented with a USTA gold ball. She will also receive a wild card into the Women’s Singles Main Draw of the 2024 US Open in New York.
“I’m so excited. I didn’t expect it to make this far in the tournament. To know that I’ll be playing in the U.S. Open is just incredible,” Jovic said.
“In the second set, I was just thinking about what a long week it has been, and I was getting really tired, so I had to use my energy and get really focused so that I didn’t have to a play another set,” Jovic added.
Approximately 90 minutes after winning the singles title, Jovic returned to Stadium Court and teamed with Tyra Caterina Grant of Miami Beach, Fla., to win the 18s doubles title with an impressive 6-2, 6-0 victory over seventh-seeded Victoria Osuigwe of Bradenton, Fla., and Maya Iyengar of Paradise Valley, Ariz.
In addition to being awarded USTA gold balls for winning the National Championship, Jovic and Grant, who captured the Australian and Wimbledon junior doubles titles earlier this year, received a wild card into the Women’s Doubles Main Draw of the upcoming US Open.
Current WTA touring professional Ashlyn Krueger was the last player to win the Girls’ 18s singles and doubles titles in the same year. She accomplished the feat in 2021.
Earlier in the day, second-seeded Akasha Urhobo of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was presented the USTA bronze ball for winning the Third-Place singles match. Her opponent, top-seeded Clervie Ngounoue of Orlando, Fla., could not play due to injury.
In the Girls’’ 18s Consolation Singles Final, 16th-seeded Kristina Penickova of Campbell, Calif., defeated 11th-seeded Julieta Pareja of Carlsbad, Calif., 6-2, 6-2.
To view final singles and doubles draws for each age division, click here. To view the official Tournament Program, click here.
