In second Asian Swing, Jovic is embracing Chinese culture and history
It's Iva Jovic's second Asian Swing on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, and this time around she's making a concerted effort to soak it all in.
The World No. 11 played Beijing before arriving to Wuhan, and she's embraced the culture in both cities. In addition to taking in the sights, she's tried to learn as much as she can about Chinese culture and history.
"Fortunately enough, I had really nice tour guides in Beijing who took us to the [Great] Wall [of China], so I learned a lot," she told reporters on Wednesday. "Obviously, Beijing is the capital. There are many historic things to see and do. The Great Wall was something special. I wanted to go to the Forbidden City, but didn't have time."
Wuhan has been equally fascinating to the American, though she's noticed both a cultural and environmental shift.
"In my experience here in Wuhan, there's been more young people, which I think is because of the universities," she added. "I learned there's the most universities here, so that's been really nice. And a lot of English, which I really appreciate. Many people speak English here, so I really kind of feel very understood, which is nice."
On the court, Jovic has bettered her results from last year. After dropping her lone match in Beijing in 2025, she won two matches there earlier this month before falling to Iga Swiatek in the Round of 16.
She did make the Round of 16 in Wuhan last year as a qualifier, and has matched that so far this week. After receiving a bye into the second round, she beat Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday to reach the third round.
She'll play Roland Garros runner-up Maja Chwalinska on Thursday. This will be their first career meeting on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.
