Rising American tennis star Iva Jović added a major milestone to her already promising career by clinching her first WTA 125 Challenger title in Ilkley on grass.
The 17-year-old from Torrance, California, stormed past defending champion and current WTA No. 107 Rebecca Marino in the final with a dominant 6-1, 6-3 win. Jović is now projected to make her long-awaited debut in the WTA Top 100, becoming the youngest player in that elite tier.
Iva Jović Becomes the Youngest WTA 125 Winner After Ilkley Win
The current World No. 115 entered the tournament unseeded but barely put a foot wrong all week. She cruised past Rebeka Masarova, Varvara Lepchenko, Talia Gibson and Viktorija Golubic, en route to the final where she defeated Marino. The win also marked her third title of the season across three different surfaces: hard courts in Bonita Springs, clay in Charlottesville and now grass in Ilkley.
Jović will officially enter the Top 100 when the WTA rankings update on Monday, June 16, coming in at No. 89. Not only will she be the youngest player in the Top 100, but she also set a new WTA 125 record, becoming the youngest champion in the event’s history at 17 years and 191 days, edging past CiCi Bellis’ record from 2016 by just 42 days.
🇺🇸 Iva Jovic defeats reigning champion 🇨🇦 Rebecca Marino 6-1, 6-3 to win her first WTA 125 Challenger title in Ilkley.
Straight set wins in SF & Final after winning three matches in 3 sets.
The 17 year old will debut in the top 100 next week.
Youngest player in the top 100. pic.twitter.com/jR2tYVOy0f
— edgeAI (@edgeAIapp) June 15, 2025
Jović has also made impressive strides on the Grand Slam stage. She reached the second round at three consecutive majors, the 2024 US Open, 2025 Australian Open and 2025 French Open, each time entering the draw via USTA wild card pathways.
Her recent spot in the French Open main draw was earned through the USTA’s Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge, where she led the standings with 142 points, highlighted by a title run at the W100 in Charlottesville. At Roland Garros, she won her first-round match against Renata Zarazúa before falling to No. 12 seed Elena Rybakina.
Jović Says Grass Feels Natural After Claiming Maiden WTA 125 Title
Jović said she was thrilled to win her first WTA 125 title in Ilkley, especially after tough early rounds.
“It feels pretty great, I’m just so happy to come out here and play a ton of good matches,” Jović said. “The first three rounds I played three sets and was almost eliminated but I was just trying to fight and figure it out. I think I found my game towards the end of the tournament.”
She added that she feels comfortable on grass and hopes to carry this momentum into Wimbledon.
“There’s not as much adjustment for me on the grass,” Jović continued. “I like how I’m able to naturally play on it. Clay is a bit more of an adjustment for me but here it’s more natural and hopefully I can keep the results coming. Hopefully I can make the main draw at Wimbledon, I’m super excited to play there.”
The grass-court season will conclude with the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, scheduled to run from June 30 to July 13.