Making their Grand Slam debut as seeded players, one soared high while the other exited in the first round.

It is well known that all tennis tournaments feature seeded players, and often among them are some fresh faces. At the 2026 Australian Open, two tennis players competed as seeds for the first time in a Grand Slam, but their outcomes at the event were strikingly different. So, who are these two athletes? What had they accomplished previously? And how exactly did they fare at the 2026 Australian Open? Let this article guide you through their stories.

The 2025 season was a landmark year for Australian player Joint. During this period, she first swept Croatian player Vekic in the round of 16 at the WTA 500 Merida tournament, marking her first career victory against a top-20 opponent. She then went on a five-match winning streak at the WTA 250 Rabat event, capturing her first-ever tour title.

In late June, she claimed her second career tour title at the WTA 250 Eastbourne tournament. Her world ranking surged by nearly 100 spots during the 2025 season. Consequently, Joint entered the 2026 Australian Open as the 30th seed, her first time being seeded at a Grand Slam since turning professional. However, she lost in the first round to Czech player Valentova with a score of 4–6, 4–6. So far, she has only managed two wins in Grand Slam main draws.

Also making her Grand Slam seeded debut was American player Jovic, who experienced a completely different breakthrough. Compared to Joint, Jovic was much less well-known. In the first half of the 2025 season, after winning two Challenger titles, her confidence grew significantly. In early September, she won her first tour-level title of 2025 at the WTA 500 Guadalajara event. That year, she improved her world ranking by over 100 places.

After such progress, Jovic entered the 2026 season without slowing down. She reached the semifinals at the WTA 250 Auckland tournament, followed by a finals appearance at the WTA 250 Hobart event. Thanks to these results, her world ranking broke into the top 30. With this ranking, she made her Grand Slam debut as the 29th seed.

In the first round of the Australian Open, Jovic defeated compatriot Voracova 6–2, 6–3 to advance smoothly. In the second round, she overwhelmed Australian player Han Tianyu 6–1, 6–2 to reach the round of 32. In the third round, she faced Italian player Paolini, who had twice reached Grand Slam finals. After comfortably taking the first set 6–2, Jovic held off Paolini’s comeback in the second set tiebreak to cause an upset and advance to her first Grand Slam round of 16.

In the round of 16, Jovic faced Kazakhstan’s Putintseva, a two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist. She dominated from start to finish, defeating Putintseva 6–0, 6–1 to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Although she will meet world number one Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus in the quarterfinals, Jovic expressed no fear of the challenge. That’s today’s tennis story; more to come tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yixin Jushi)