Vekic: "The day I stop, I will dedicate myself to resting, to do nothing"

Fernando Murciego | 7 Oct 2025 | 11.35

Donna Vekic poses at the Media Day of the WTA Wuhan 2025. Source: Getty

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Currently outside the top 70, the name of Donna Vekic has lost a lot of strength on the circuit this season. Interestingly, this decline began just after last summer, when she strung together some Wimbledon semifinals with an Olympic medal. Everything has its explanation.

Far from being a veteran yet –she turned 29 three months ago–, Donna Vekic navigates the women's circuit with the feeling of living two lives dedicated to this profession. A sport so demanding that it does not allow you to rest your mind or body. It's so complex that even success can lead to a disconnection in your brain, filling the tank in such a way that you risk running empty later. That's what happened to the Croatian after shining brightly last summer, as she shared in a recent interview with tennis.com.

“I was very disappointed with my clay season, it's a phase that kills me every year,” comments the Osijek native with some frustration. “Every season I try to give a little more... but I never receive anything in return! I mean, I know I won an Olympic medal on clay, so maybe that's enough for the rest of my life on this surface, although it's a bit draining. Then the problem is that you go with little confidence to the grass tour, where I was defending many points, had some tough matches. I had high expectations and felt a lot of pressure, it wasn't ideal,” recalls the former World No. 17.

The reality is that her life changed on August 3, 2024, when she won the silver medal at the Paris Olympics. “What more can I ask for? "Now that I have a medal, I feel like I achieved everything. If I don't win anything else, it's fine, although I think this success motivated me even more. Not just the medal, also the Wimbledon semifinals, being so close to a Grand Slam final showed me that I really could do it,” values the Balkan player.

However, that motivation has been fading over the months, resulting in a record of 12-20 this season. “I feel like I was doing the right things in every practice, but the results have not been as expected, not what I wanted. Staying motivated and moving forward has not been easy; one of the best recent matches I remember is the victory over Maria Sakkari a few weeks ago in Monterrey, but not many more. I thought that as I got older, I would start dealing more easily with certain issues, but the truth is no, now I get more nervous than ever,” she states from experience.

- Facing the final stage of her career

Not yet in her thirties, it is still early to know Donna's long-term plans. Certainly, she will need to improve her ranking significantly to regain some advantage in tournaments. Certainly, she will need to find the right team to help her rediscover her best form. And certainly, she will have to find the motivation of past seasons to face each day with sharp focus to fight for the same objectives as her fellow competitors. There is only one thing the Croatian is sure of.

Donna Vekic poses with her Olympic silver medal. Source: Getty

“How much time do I have left to play? Well, I don't know, the problem I have is that every day it's harder to do the things I need to do to be at the level I want to be. It's a daily battle, honestly. I just try to take it day by day and see how much I can push myself, because tennis is a brutal sport. Yesterday I saw a video in which Venus Williams said that tennis was the healthiest sport in the world (laughter). I would say it's the unhealthiest sport, especially if you play it as much as we do and lead this kind of life. The day I stop, all I'll do is rest, do nothing,” she concludes with a smile.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Vekic: “El día que me detenga me dedicaré a descansar, a no hacer nada”

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