"Just insane. Be kind everyone" - Iva Jovic the latest player to be on receiving end of social media hate barrage

Iva Jovic's Ningbo Open campaign came stalling to an immediate halt following a three-set battle against Diana Shnaider. The 18-year-old came out the wrong side of a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 scoreline, crashing out at the quarter-finals stage. What followed was a wave of abuse that led her to react on social media.

Jovic was continuing her Asian swing at the Ningbo Open, hopeful of scooping up a third WTA 500 title in what is already a very successful career for someone as young as her. She was also looking up in the rankings with a top 10 breakthrough seemingly coming up if she continues in this rich vein of form enjoyed in 2026, with more improvement touted.

After defending her title in Guadalajara, she fell in consecutive WTA 1000 events at the last-16 stage against Polish duo Iga Swiatek and Maja Chwalinska in Beijing and Wuhan. She already made it past that stage with another fine win over Jasmine Paolini.

She was looking to participate in the semi-finals, but to have done that, a win over Shnaider was needed, and would not occur. The Russian won the first set despite Jovic going on a break up in the early stages. The American staged a fightback which resulted in a third set needing to be played out. It would be a catastrophe as Shnaider ticked off the final five games to blast into the semi-finals, a first WTA final of 2026 just one win away.

It was disappointment for Jovic, whose progress in Asia continues to be stumped before the business end of the tournament. After the match, she would go on social media and be horrified by the amount of hate that was directed at her.

Still only a teenager in her second season competing on the WTA Tour, it is brutal for someone to be receiving this, but it is also common not just in tennis but in sport. She posted a number of the comments directed at her while sending out a brief but form five-world statement on Instagram. "Just insane. Be kind everyone."

Some of the comments ranged from: "Horrendous," "Horrible," "Rich kid with three tennis lessons, unbelievale," "My god she is such an overated player," "If you weren't hot and your parents weren't rich, you wouldn't even play ITF."

It is not a welcoming sight for Jovic after what was a tough defeat to take. Dragging herself back in the match before running out of steam at the end with Shnaider on the charge.

A number of tennis players have exposed these social media offensives in recent times, a large number of them stemming from sports betting, which continues to be a problem. Players are forced to manage their social media load, especially after defeat, with the hate sadly inevitable and horrific.

A couple of weeks ago, Coco Gauff was in the headlines after a wave of racist attacks were directed at her. "Hey everyone, you can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist," Gauff wrote while competing at the China Open. "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."

Gauff had since withdrawn from the Wuhan Open with the WTA Finals on the horizon. Jovic will not appear at Indian Wells with the lineup set, but to be sitting 11th is very impressive and bodes well for next year. If she can muster up a few more deep runs on the big stage, she will be a budge threat.

For the time being, she will not compete in the Pan Pacific Open. Jovic had been entered in the event in Tokyo, but her name has not appeared on the draw. Whether that is due to her body not being ready or the hate getting to her, she will be desperate to get back on the court sooner rather than later.