Vekic reflects on her difficult year: "Now that I have a medal, I feel like I've achieved my goal"

After a successful previous season marked by an Olympic singles medal, Donna Vekic has struggled to maintain consistency in recent months.

Having fallen to 71st in the world rankings, Vekic has endured a tough 2025, during which she hasn't reached a single WTA quarterfinal. The Croatian, who reached the Wimbledon semifinals and then won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics last year, is going through a difficult period.

Moreover, the 29-year-old player reflected on her complicated recent months in terms of results, as she has only dropped in the rankings after starting the year in the top 20.

"I was very disappointed with the clay court season. Every year, I give a little more, and I get nothing in return. Although I won a medal on clay, that might be enough for the rest of my career on this surface.

Then, when I went to grass with little confidence while having many points to defend, I had difficult matches. I was expecting a lot and feeling a lot of pressure. It wasn't easy. Now that I have a medal, I feel like I've achieved my goal.

If I don't win anything else, it's okay. But it motivated me even more, not only the medal but also the Wimbledon semifinals. Being so close to the final showed me that I could do it. I feel like I'm doing well in training, but the results aren't meeting my expectations.

It's not easy to stay motivated and keep fighting, but when you win a match like the one against Bouzas Maneiro in the first round of the US Open or against Maria Sakkari in Monterrey, those were good matches, I need to build on that for the upcoming tournaments," Vekic stated recently for Tribuna.