Andrea Petkovic did not hesitate when Serena Williams’ coach Rennae Stubbs put her on the spot about tennis’s next generation. Speaking on the ‘The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast’ US Open wrap-up, the former world No. 9 was asked to pick between Alex Eala and Iva Jovic. Their third-round clash at Flushing Meadows was one of the highlights of the tournament, and she had to decide between the two players – which one will win a Grand Slam first?

“One of my favorite matches of the tournament was Eala and Jovic,” Petkovic said. “I think both will win one. I think that’s important for me to state. I think Eala will win one before, just because she has that two years.”

“I think it’s difficult to account for these two years that Eala has on her, the extra bit of experience, the extra bit of having been in certain moments, the extra bit of life experience, not only experience in tournaments, but honestly, who cares?” Petkovic added. Because both of them are the future and present of women’s tennis, and both of them are so amazing to watch.”

She was careful to frame the pick as circumstantial rather than a knock on Jovic’s game. 

“I’m not picking her because I believe in her tennis more or less. I just think the two years of maturity, even though Iva Jovic is maybe the most mature person I’ve ever spoken to, it’s almost shocking when she opens her mouth, how this 55-year-old woman comes out of her that’s gone through so much life experience.”

The 18-year-old Californian has made a quick start to her career since turning professional in 2022. This year, she became the youngest American to reach the last eight of the Australian Open since Venus Williams in 1998, and even won her first WTA title as a 17-year-old ranked outside the world’s top 70 in Guadalajara in 2025. Since then, she has climbed to a career-high rank of No. 14 with 4th-round finishes at Wimbledon and the US Open and a third-round run at Roland Garros. 

On the other hand, Alex Eala has been the Filipino tennis sensation who defeated Iga Swiatek in the third round of Wimbledon and earned her maiden WTA title in Washington, defeating world No. 3 Jessica Pegula. She’s tied with Aryna Sabalenka and Pegula for the most top-10 wins this season, at seven, which portrays the domination she has had over the elite players. 

Petkovic on a golden era for the women’s game

The Eala-Jovic pick came as part of a broader conversation in which Petkovic said she has never felt better about the state of women’s tennis. All four top seeds, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff, reached the US Open semifinals this year, the first time that has happened at the tournament since 1975.

“As a former female tennis player, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been with how women’s tennis is right now,” Petkovic said. “We had the top four seeds in the semifinal, one, two, three, and four. And this is not the first time.”

She was particularly thrilled to see some real competition at the peak of the sport after a period when she felt it was lacking and named Pegula’s Wimbledon duel with Gauff and the Rybakina-Sabalenka final rematch as the sort of matchups the women’s sport needed. 

From Noskova’s soaring success to Mirra Andreeva’s Roland Garros triumph to the Eala-Jovic rivalry in building, Petkovic’s outlook on the sport was clear:  the women’s tour is producing exactly the kind of young talent and genuine competition she has waited years to see.