Vekic and the loss of motivation after winning the Olympic medal: "The pressure is gone"

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Donna Vekic is not accustomed to appearing on the big billboards, nor does she play all her matches on the center courts, nor does she seek the media attention of other tennis players, but neither does she pursue it. She prefers not to make noise, to go slowly and achieve her goals. The greatest achievement to date was the silver Olympic medal won in Paris 2024, defeating players like Coco Gauff or Bianca Andreescu along the way. And that success came after a painful semifinal at Wimbledon, where she succumbed to Jasmine Paolini in the super tie-break of the third set.

A demonstration of resilience and never giving up is what led the 29-year-old player to win the silver medal. And the Croatian reveals her secret: "I have worked all my life on my shots, perfecting my shots. My craft is my strokes and my game on the court. Someone asks you, 'How do you feel, are you ready for the next tournament?' It's not something I've been working on for the past week or month. It's something you have been working on your whole life," she stated in statements collected by TennisChannel.

After the defeat in London, the hunger for Paris arrived

The Croatian recovered from the tough setback at Wimbledon on the beaches of her country, while her desire and motivation to participate in the Games only increased: "After Wimbledon... I was in Croatia, and everyone was talking about it. It made me hungry to do well in the Olympic Games. It motivated me a lot".

Vekic had a dream run at Roland Garros, which dressed up for the Olympic event. Only a superb Qinwen Zheng prevented her from the gold. But the dream of participating in the Games and also taking a medal will stay with her for life: "After winning the medal in Paris, I told myself: 'Okay, now I am much more relaxed; if I don't win anything else, it's okay'".

And the world number 25 delved into it: "After winning the medal, the pressure was gone, because I have achieved one of my dreams that I had since I started playing tennis. But then it showed me how close I am to winning big titles. It definitely gave me a lot of motivation to keep pushing".

However, after her Olympic success, 2025 has been somewhat inconsistent for her, with eight wins and fifteen losses. A rough patch that the Balkan player has identified: "When my serve works, everything else works. It has always been one of my main strengths and makes rallies much easier for me. If I have a good serve, points end very quickly".

Despite being 29 years old, Vekic talks about retirement naturally and openly: "I don't have much time left, but I still have a little. As long as I am healthy, that's the most important thing," she concludes, returning to Wimbledon, the place where her redemption began.
 

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Vekic y la pérdida de motivación tras ganar la medalla olímpica: "La presión se fue"