The future of women’s tennis arrived at the US Open, and it was spectacular

Fairly important German philosopher Georg Hegel once wrote of seeing Napoleon Bonaparte ride into town: “I saw the emperor — this world-soul — riding out of the city on reconnaissance. It is indeed a wonderful sensation to see such an individual, who, concentrated here at a single point, astride a horse, reaches out over the world and masters it.” I’m not saying watching Iva Jovic and Alex Eala in the third round of the US Open is like watching Napoleon ride into your walled German city; I’m saying it’s way cooler than that.

Eala and Jovic played the match of the tournament on Saturday night, and like Hegel felt he was witness to history riding through the streets, we were all witnesses to the future on a tennis court without any of the nerding out over an autocrat whose wars of conquest literally cost millions of lives. Eala vs. Jovic was much better and came with the same feeling of earth-shattering consequence. Jovic won the match, and faces Coco Gauff on Monday, but the result was secondary to the match’s quality and impact; women’s tennis has its next generation. 

Both are tremendous hitters, and on Saturday were firing on all cylinders — Eala, the 21-year-old Filipino star, looked in control of the third set before the 18-year-old Jovic roared back to regain control. They could cover the court and shoot lasers from both sides, aiming for the lines and hitting them. Neither brought major heat on their serves consistently, but both reached back like a baseball closer to produce major miles per hour at key moments. It was, as the kids say, sick. 

I stumbled upon 16-year-old Iva Jovic on a side court in front of tens of people (rather than the tens of thousands) at the 2024 US Open and wound up watching a multi-hour slugfest between her and Ekaterina Alexandrova, then seeded 29th over this teenage upstart. It was a riveting match; Jovic, who I had never heard of, was giving Alexandrova fits even though she possessed a far better serve. It was a narrowly decided affair, but Alexandrova prevailed, looking flabbergasted that this 16-year-old had just taken her to the brink. The following year, I saw the much-higher-ranked Jovic win on a somewhat larger side court. 

This year, I once again was at the US Open in person the day Jovic was set to play … but she’s a much bigger deal now. No more side courts; try Saturday night on Arthur Ashe Stadium — I only had day session tickets to Ashe, so I had to watch on TV. 

Of course, it was not just Jovic that drew the crowd: Alex Eala has become a bona fide sensation, winning her first-round match at the US Open last year and winning the Washington Open in 2026 for her first ATP 500-level title. She’s also a barrier-breaker, the highest-ranked Southeast Asian in WTA history. Both women are friends off the court, and ESPN felt like it would never run out of intriguing stories to highlight pre-match. Then we actually started playing tennis.

As I’ve already said, it was scintillating, fire-breathing tennis. It was the pinnacle of how tennis can become an arms race of two individuals constantly raising their level; Jovic would drill a crazy-to-even-attempt inside-out forehand, Eala would then find a 114 mph serve. It was that kind of night for both players. No limits, only elevations. 

Smarter people than me can tell you why Jovic won, but every once in a while you have to just sit back and appreciate how gloriously peak* tennis can be when it’s at its best. Carlos Alcaraz versus Jannik Sinner in the 2025 French Open Final was likewise beyond comprehension, and when two players are really on, the experience can really cut through your consciousness as a sports fan. The ball becomes immaterial; the players’ racquets are swords and they’re locked in an hours-long duel to the death … except no one actually dies. That’s why it’s better than Napoleon. Man I love tennis.

(*Peak = Bonus vocabulary word; I thought I’d indulge in some Gen-Z terminology as I’m Gen-Z writing about two Gen-Z players. Peak as a noun just means “incredible” but has a wider array of affixable adjectives. Like, I couldn’t have said “gloriously incredible.”)