Iva Jovic overturned an early deficit to beat Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday, sending the fourth seed into the quarter-finals of the BNB Ningbo Open. The American teenager needed 1 hour and 22 minutes to dismiss the former world No. 4 and two-time Grand Slam runner-up on Ningbo’s hard courts.
Jovic turns opening-set setback into control
Paolini made the sharper start, earning an early break and moving ahead 3-1 in the first set. Jovic gradually settled from the baseline, however, and reeled in the Italian with two breaks of serve to take the opener 6-4.
The fourth seed then appeared to put the match beyond reach when she broke twice for a 4-1 advantage in the second set. Paolini recovered one of those breaks and narrowed the margin to 4-3, but Jovic held firm in the next game before breaking again to complete the straight-sets victory.
- Result: Iva Jovic bt Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3
- Round: Third round
- Tournament: BNB Ningbo Open
- Surface: Hard court
- Match duration: 1 hour, 22 minutes
- Seed: Jovic is seeded No. 4
Another Paolini win lifts Jovic’s season total
The result marked Jovic’s second straight win over Paolini, following her third-round victory against the Italian at this year’s Australian Open. Their career head-to-head is now level at two wins apiece.
Paolini entered the contest ranked No. 35, making this Jovic’s 20th career victory over a Top 50 player. It was also her 42nd tour-level win of 2026, already the most productive WTA season of her career.
- Jovic has won 42 WTA main-draw matches in 2026.
- Twenty-eight of those victories have come on hard courts.
- She has now reached seven WTA quarter-finals this season.
- In her previous six quarter-final appearances this year, she reached the semi-finals five times.
Quarter-final opponent still to be decided
Jovic will next face either sixth seed Diana Shnaider or Alexandra Eala for a place in the Ningbo semi-finals. The draw offers encouraging history for the American: she owns a combined 4-0 record against the two possible opponents.
- Against Diana Shnaider: 1-0
- Against Alexandra Eala: 3-0
After recovering from Paolini’s fast start, Jovic has placed herself in another key late-stage hard-court match and will look to convert her seventh quarter-final of the season into a sixth semi-final appearance.
