It was one of those Wimbledon matches that took your breath away. The emotional peaks and troughs of elite-level sport, played out in front of an enthralled Centre Court crowd, on a bright afternoon in July. A record-setter, too: at two hours and 51 minutes, the longest semi-final at the All England Club in the 147-year history of the ladies’ singles competition.
Yet for Donna Vekic, disconsolate after missing out on a first Grand Slam final, her agonising defeat to Jasmine Paolini last year is not a contest she wants to witness again. Particularly now, ahead of another tilt in SW19.
“It was very heartbreaking,” Vekic tells The Independent, nearly 12 months on from that loss in a final-set tie-break. The tears are still fresh in the memory.
“I still haven’t seen the highlights or rewatched the match. It was not easy. I feel like every grass court season, I always have a heartbreaker. Thank God the Olympics [in Paris] were straight after… because I didn’t have time to cry too much.”
Vekic’s journey to the last four at Wimbledon last year, in which she won four out of five matches in three sets before eventually coming a cropper to Italian Paolini, was a career-best performance on the sport’s grandest stage, in her 42nd Grand Slam. Given her hard-hitting, low-trajectory groundstrokes, it was perhaps little surprise that she put a run together on the grass.
But what was a surprise – no more to Vekic herself – was her meritorious response on the slower, tougher clay courts of Paris, a few weeks later. Her spirits buoyed, not dampened, the proud Croat beat second seed Coco Gauff (who won the French Open earlier this month) in the third round, before battling to the semi-finals with two final-set tie-break triumphs, via a hair’s breadth 10-8 scoreline.
Vekic guaranteed herself a medal with a semi-final obliteration of Slovak player Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the semis, before falling to China’s Qinwen Zheng in the final.
“Winning a medal for your country is so tough,” she reflects, now, on the proudest moment of her career. “It was an incredible experience, which only winning a Slam could beat.”
Vekic even acknowledges that, prior to Paris, she thought her best chance of a medal would come in the mixed doubles, which she didn’t even play in the end. That being said, the uniqueness of the Olympic setting acted as a natural source of rejuvenation.
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“I stayed in the Olympic village and just hanging out with athletes from different sports brings your energy levels up,” she adds. “I definitely surprised myself, particularly on clay, which has never been my friend. But it was always a big goal to win a medal.”
It marked 2024 as the most prosperous season of a career which, despite still being two years shy of 30, has already stretched to 14 years. That, in itself, is an achievement which should not be overlooked.
Vekic emerged, quite suddenly, at 16 years of age when she made the final of the WTA-level Tashkent Open in 2012. By Wimbledon the following year, the British press were already comparing her to Maria Sharapova, who won Wimbledon at the age of 17 in 2004.
Being thrust into the world of professional tennis as a teenager is no easy environment to grow up. Many teenage stars before her have seen their greatest achievements come in their formative years, largely a result of natural fearlessness on the court.
Yet Vekic, who wears her heart on her sleeve week-in, week-out, confesses to never feeling such non-alignment.
“I’ve always been the same,” she says, of a time when she first became accustomed to “suitcase travelling,” as she puts it.
“My emotions can bring out the best in me on court, but sometimes my worst. But I like to have momentum and confidence in my shots, that’s the most important thing for my tennis.
“I did have an element of surprise [at the start of her career] because no one knows your game. But once people get to know you, then you have to start the grind!”
Vekic’s career has rarely fluctuated in the decade or so since: a career-high ranking of 17 was achieved post-Wimbledon last year, while she has not dropped below the top-75 in the rankings since 2016. Perhaps inevitably, though, given the rigours of life on tour, she has come close to calling it quits. Even last summer, in fact, just before Wimbledon.
“I was thinking about it, but I didn’t want to miss the Olympics,” she recalls. “It’s always been tough for me mentally. It’s always challenged me and with all the travelling, I’m pretty tired.
“Even this year, I really wanted to do well and play. I had big expectations but it hasn’t worked out so far. But it hasn’t affected me as much as last year, that’s for sure.”
And so back to Wimbledon. Pam Shriver, the 22-time Grand Slam winning doubles player, tennis broadcaster and teenage talent herself, had been a part of Vekic’s team as a consultant since 2022. She described the American as “family” but, last week, Shriver stepped down from her role. There is no bad blood but, undeniably, it is a blow for the Croat.
Yet it is not in Vekic’s nature – both on and off the court – to wilt. Giving up, per se, is not an option and, back in south-west London, her ambitious, underlying goal remains the Venus Rosewater Dish on 12 July.
“A lot of things have to happen for you to win a Slam,” she says, a week after losing in the first round of Queen’s. “I hope I can raise my level. My goal is to win Wimbledon.
“I feel good there. So far in my career, I have given it my absolute all. I want to be known for never giving up and I’ve never given up so far.
“I want that to be the case until the end of my career. If I’m meant to win a Slam, amazing. If not, it’s OK, I still have a motherhood home.”
