'I feel a lot more relaxed; if I never ever win anything again' - Donna Vekic on being at peace after Olympic glory last summer

Representing your country at the Olympic Games is considered an honor by every athlete, and Croatian tennis star Donna Vekic believes winning a medal at the Games is one of the greatest accomplishments an athlete could achieve.

The 28-year old is considered a veteran on the WTA Tour, and has climbed as high as World No.17 in the WTA Rankings. Furthermore, Vekic stunned the world by reaching the final of the women's singles tennis event at last year's summer Olympic Games, falling to China's Qinwen Zheng but leaving Paris with a silver medal.

Winning a medal is a lifelong dream, says Vekic

The Osijek native turned pro at just 16 years of age, soon after winning the prestigious junior Orange Bowl. Although Vekic remained competitive on the WTA tour during her early years, recurring knee injuries prompted her to consider hanging up her racket.

However, Vekic would continue pursuing her passion, leading to her breaking into the top 10. She would add tennis great Pam Shriver to her team in 2022, and two years later reached the semifinals of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, losing to runner-up Jasmine Paolini in an epic three-set encounter.

Following the grass court Grand Slam, Vekic would achieve one of the biggest triumphs of her career. Representing her native Croatia at the Olympic Games a month later, Vekic stunned the Parisian crowd by winning the silver medal in the singles event, defeating former US Open champions Bianca Andreescu and Coco Gauff in the process.

"After Wimbledon…I was in Croatia, and everyone was talking about it,” recalled Vekic. “It made me hungry to do well at the Olympics. It really motivated me. Then after winning the medal in Paris, I was, like, ‘OK, now I feel a lot more relaxed; if I never ever win anything again, it’s fine."

With Wimbledon less than a week away, Vekic has been ramping up her preparations for the grass court major. The Croat suffered two first round losses at Queen's and Berlin respectively, before falling in the round of 16 at the ongoing Bad Homburg Open. Nonetheless, Vekic hopes to employ some newfound tactics if she hopes to replicate last year's performance at SW19.

"When my serve is working, everything else is working,” said the Olympic silver medalist. “That’s always one of my main assets, and it makes my life a lot easier in the rallies. If I have a good serve, the points over pretty fast."