Rising talents reunite: Alexandra Eala and Iva Jovic set to team up once more at Indian Wells doubles tournament

Two rising talents on the WTA Tour are set to again team up on court in what is already an exciting partnership of a possible high calibre rivalry for the future. Alexandra Eala and Iva Jovic are back together and will be hoping for more success on court at Indian Wells.

As what has been regular for both players, they have decided to once more voyage into the women's doubles with the intention of going on a deep run but without the pressure that they will be feeling in the singles.

It is not their first time on the court together, tackling the ASB Classic as a pair. They did a good job, taking down Elina Svitolina and Venus Williams 7-6(7), 6-1 in a hugely anticipated matchup with youth prevailing over experience. A walkover in their quarterfinal saw them reach the last-four with just one win under their belt. The number three seeds proved to be too strong for them, with Yifan Xu and Zhaoxuan Yang getting the better of them 7-5, 6-3.

Since then Eala has featured in two doubles tournaments. The first came at the Australian Open where her tournament ended in the first round alongside Ingrid Martins. She then took to the court with fellow Asian talent Janice Tjen who has made a huge impression on tour over the last year. The pair proved to be a deadly combination on court, reaching the semi-final stage before losing out in straight sets.

As for Jovic, she created headlines Down Under by creating another exciting partnership, this time with good friend Victoria Mboko, Both players have had an incredible start to the year and did come close to showcasing that on court in Melbourne. In a hugely dramatic matchup against the number four seeds Elise Mertens and Shuai Zhang, Jovic and Mboko squandered three match points as Mertens and Zhang survived a scare. The consolation for Jovic and Mboko was that their victorious opponents went on to win the title. Jovic returned to doubles action in Texas at the ATX Open Austin. Teamed up with Mary Stoiana, they were no match for Kimberly Birrell and Catherine McNally.

Back together once more, Eala and Jovic will take on Hailey Baptiste and Jelena Ostapenko in a tricky opening match. They will be hoping to make more of an impression on court, not just in the doubles but singles. The hugely popular Filipina is set to lose a large chunk of her ranking points with her Miami Open semi-final defence coming up after this event. That was the event where she broke onto the scene and she will be hoping for more of the same. However, the focus is on her debut campaign at Indian Wells, with either Dayana Yastremska or Zhang her first task.

Jovic also receives a bye into the second round thanks to her ranking, with her fast start to 2026 looking set to continue after a minor blip in Austin. The 18-year-old made her WTA 1000 debut at this event last year as a wildcard, defeating Julia Grabher in three sets before putting up a good fight against Jasmine Paolini in the second round, coming out as second best. This time she does not need to worry about making it past the first round, with her opening task being one of Sloane Stephens or Camila Osorio.