Iva Jovic has called out the “insane” level of abuse she received on social media following her Ningbo Open defeat.

The 18-year-old has had an excellent year, rising to a career-high ranking of 11, defending her Guadalajara Open title, and breaking new ground at the Grand Slams.

Despite that success, the American has lifted the lid on the backlash she received off the back of an Instagram post where she summarised her Wuhan Open campaign.

Jovic lost in the third round to eventual champion Maja Chwalinska, and while her “Wuhan and only” post got more than 50,000 likes, a minority chose to hurl abuse at the teenager.

On the day of her three-set quarter-final loss to Diana Shnaider in Ningbo, Jovic made an Instagram story where some of her detractors called her “horrible”, “overrated”, telling her to “f****** give up”, and calling out her “rich” parents.

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In response, Jovic wrote in an Instagram story, “Just insane. Be kind, everyone”. This is the second time in a matter of weeks that a young American star has called out her critics on social media.

Coco Gauff was subject to racist abuse during the China Open last month, with the two-time major winner heavily criticised for calling for a video review during her win over 16-year-old Chinese wildcard Xinran Sun.

The 22-year-old tweeted, “Hey everyone, you can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist. The amount of racist comments/dms I’ve received in the last few hours is insane. Lastly, I’m not a cheater or a thief.”

This led former world No 1 Andy Roddick to slam the “disgustingly racist filth” for leading a pile-on against Gauff.

Incidentally, Jovic has had a busy 2026 season, racking up a win-loss record of 41/19. She currently sits 12th in the rankings and has earned more than $2.6million (£2m) in prize money.

She cannot qualify for the WTA Finals, and perhaps with that in mind, on top of a draining season, Jovic has withdrawn from the upcoming Pan Pacific Open. The youngster may not play again this season, and if that is the case, her campaign may end on a sour note following this abuse.

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