Australian Open 2026: Iva Jovic & Victoria Mboko – doubles partners leading teen disruptors

If the men’s draw at the Australian Open has belonged to the veterans, the women’s has been a celebration of youth – with teenagers Victoria Mboko and Iva Jovic reaching the second week of a major for the first time in their fledgling careers.

After dropping just 12 games across her previous two matches, 17th seed Mboko came through a tight three-set encounter with Danish 14th seed Clara Tauson. The 19-year-old’s reward is a date with world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the last 16.

Jovic, the 29th seed, downed seventh seed Jasmine Paolini 6-2 7-6 (7-3) – her maiden top-10 victory – and is arguably the favourite heading into her meeting with Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.

And you had better get used to hearing their names.

The North American rising stars – Mboko is Canadian while Jovic is a California native – have also teamed up in the women’s doubles, where they will face fourth seeds Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai in the second round.

Mboko is the more familiar face after a breakout 2025 season led to her being crowned WTA Newcomer of the Year.

The big-hitter, who «likes to take control» of points through her aggressive style of play, began last year ranked outside the top 300 before completing a remarkable rise to the world’s top 20.

She earned her maiden victory over a top-50 opponent and her maiden Grand Slam main-draw win during a milestone-laden fortnight on the clay in May, before bursting into the spotlight three months later by beating four Grand Slam champions to lift the WTA 1000 title on home soil in Montreal.

Although her US Open debut ended in a first-round exit, she finished the year with victory at the Hong Kong Open before reaching the final in Adelaide to kick-start 2026.

«To be here, it’s my first-ever fourth round in a Grand Slam. It’s my first time playing the Australian Open. This is a really cool experience,» said Mboko, who previously reached the third round at the French Open.

«I haven’t had a full season on the WTA Tour, but have been playing a lot of matches – I think it’s just helped me adapt.

«There’s a lot of us [teenagers] on the tour who are still in the tournament right now. It’s really nice to see. I’ve known a lot of them for such a long time. I always want them to do well and vice versa.»

Jovic is 16 months Mboko’s junior, turning 18 just six weeks before the Australian Open.

She made her professional bow in June 2022 before reaching the second round on her US Open main-draw debut in 2024, including toppling then world number 42 Magda Linette.

Like Mboko, the former junior world number two enjoyed a memorable 2025, most notably capturing her maiden WTA title at September’s Guadalajara Open and climbing into the top 40.

Warming up for the Australian Open with semi-final and final appearances in Auckland and Hobart respectively, she has reached the fourth round in Melbourne without dropping a set.

Against Paolini, who she lost to in straight sets at last year’s US Open, Jovic bulldozed through the opener, breaking the Italian’s serve three times and dominating the baseline exchanges, before holding her nerve in the second-set tie-break after twice failing to serve for the match.

Jovic, who is of Serbian descent, told herself to «go out swinging» in the tie-break and later hailed the support of 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

«I spoke to Novak yesterday a little bit. It was pretty incredible,» Jovic said.

«He gave me some very attentive tips for my game – to open the court up a little bit better, to not rush into shots all the time, find some more width.

«I tried to do that and it ended well. I’m just going to try to keep listening to Novak.»

Jovic’s victory over Paolini was not the first upset of the women’s draw, with Czech teenager Nikola Bartunkova overcoming 10th seed Belinda Bencic in three sets in Thursday’s second round – the first of the top 10 to fall in Melbourne.

The 19-year-old, who climbed from outside the top 500 to world number 126 over the past 12 months, came through qualifying and two three-set thrillers – despite being bagelled in the second set on both occasions – to reach the third round.

Although she couldn’t match Mboko and Jovic’s run to the second week, falling to 21st seed Elise Mertens on Saturday, Bartunkova has earned her share of admirers, with former top-10 player Andrea Petkovic labelling her «my new favourite player».

Bartunkova was joined in round three by compatriot Tereza Valentova, 18, who lost to fifth seed Elena Rybakina 6-2 6-3 on Saturday.

Valentova, the latest player to come off the TK Sparta Prague production line, is one of eight Czech players inside the top 100, starting the tournament at world number 54.