Teen dreams turn reality: Iva, Tiantosoa capture first WTA titles

Dubai: Two teenagers made breakthrough moments on the WTA Tour this week. Seventeen-year-old American Iva Jovic and 19-year-old Frenchwoman Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah captured their first career tour-level singles titles at the WTA 500 in Guadalajara and WTA 250 in Sao Paulo, respectively.

In two finals guaranteed to crown first-time champions, Jovic defeated Colombia’s Emiliana Arango 6-4, 6-1, while Rakotomanga Rajaonah overcame Indonesia’s Janice Tjen 6-4, 6-3. Tjen’s run was historic in its own right — she became the first Indonesian player to reach a WTA singles final since 2002.

Both champions were unseeded and capitalised on wide-open draws in the wake of the US Open. In Guadalajara, top seeds Elise Mertens and Veronika Kudermetova exited early in the second round. In Sao Paulo, World No 27 Beatriz Haddad Maia was the highest-ranked player in the field, but only two seeds — No 5 Renata Zarazua and No 8 Francesca Jones — reached the semi-finals. Rakotomanga Rajaonah beat Zarazua, while Tjen upset Jones.

Their paths to the final were anything but smooth. Both Jovic and Rakotomanga Rajaonah saved match points earlier in the tournament. The French teenager came back from 0-5 down in the final set and saved three match points against Mexico's Ana Sofia Sanchez in the opening round. Jovic saved a match point in a tense quarter-final against Andorra's Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, eventually winning 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(6).

Jovic’s win makes her the youngest American to win a WTA singles title since Coco Gauff claimed Parma in 2021, and the youngest WTA champion of the year at 17 years and 283 days—surpassing Mirra Andreeva, who won in Dubai earlier this season at 17 years and 299 days. Rakotomanga Rajaonah becomes the first Frenchwoman to win a hard-court tour-level title since Caroline Garcia at the 2022 WTA Finals, and the youngest French champion since Océane Dodin in 2016.

Both players also hit significant career milestones. Jovic, already the youngest player in the Top 100, will rise into the Top 50 in next week’s rankings. Rakotomanga Rajaonah will surge over 80 spots to break into the Top 150, marking a new career high.