By the numbers: Jovic records 50th Top 20 win to reach Ningbo quarters
No. 4 seed Iva Jovic rallied from a break down in the opening set to defeat former world No. 4 Jasmine Paolini in straight sets and reach the quarterfinals of the BNB Ningbo Open on Thursday.
Paolini, a two-time Grand Slam finalist, broke early to take a 3-1 lead before Jovic found her rhythm. The American teenager broke twice to win the opening set 6-4.
Jovic moved two breaks ahead at 4-1 in the second set, but Paolini fought back to cut the deficit to 4-3. Jovic held serve before breaking again to close out a 6-4, 6-3 victory in 1 hour, 22 minutes.
Job done 💃 Iva Jovic playing outstanding Tennis and booking her place in the quarterfinals! #NingboOpen https://t.co/ICgfDZWsvA
— wta (@WTA) October 22, 2026
Here are some notable numbers from Jovic’s latest win:
2: This was Jovic’s second consecutive victory over Paolini. She also defeated the Italian in the third round of this year’s Australian Open. The win levelled their head-to-head record at 2-2.
7: Jovic has reached the quarterfinals of a WTA-level event for the seventh time this season. She advanced to the semifinals in five of her previous six quarterfinal appearances.
20: Jovic’s victory over Paolini, ranked No. 35 in the world, was her 20th career win against a Top 50 opponent.
42: Jovic has recorded 42 tour-level victories in 2026, making it her most successful season on tour to date. Twenty-eight of those wins have come on hard courts.
4: Jovic has a combined 4-0 record against her potential quarterfinal opponents, No. 6 seed Diana Shnaider and Alexandra Eala. She is 1-0 against Shnaider and 3-0 against Eala.
