Donna Vekić (Croatian pronunciation: [ˈʋekiːt͡ɕ]; born 28 June 1996) is a Croatian tennis player.
Vekić has won one singles title on the WTA tour as well as four singles and one doubles title on the ITF circuit in her career. On 15 July 2013, she reached her best singles ranking of world number 62. On 2 February 2015, she peaked at world number 310 in the doubles rankings.
Osijek-born Vekić is a member of the Croatia Fed Cup team and in February 2012 played three rubbers at the tournament, including helping her country to a 2–0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.[1]
Personal life
Vekić has had a relationship with fellow tennis player Stan Wawrinka since May 2015.[2] At the US Open, which he won, she was seen in photographs with him and his coach Magnus Norman.[3]
Professional career
2012: First WTA final
At the 2012 Tashkent Open, Vekić made it to her first WTA Tour final, it was her first main draw appearance at a WTA tournament. She was the youngest player in six years to make it to a WTA final. She was, however, defeated by Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets.[4]
2013: Second WTA final
Vekić started her year off by entering the main draw of the 2013 Australian Open. She defeated Andrea Hlaváčková in the first round 6-1, 6-2. In the 2nd round, Vekić fell to 10th seed and former world number 1, Caroline Wozniacki 6-1, 6-4. [5]
Seeded 16th for qualifying at the 2013 Sony Open Tennis, Vekić qualified for the main draw by defeating Marta Sirotkina 6-2, 6-3 and Valeria Savinykh 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. In the 1st round, she beat fellow qualifier Yulia Putintseva 7-6(4), 6-0. In the 2nd round, Vekić lost to 29th seed Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-2. At the 2013 Monterrey Open, Vekić defeated Julia Cohen in the 1st round 6-0, 6-4. In the 2nd round, she lost to 7th seed Urszula Radwańska 6-4, 6-1. Vekić won the 50K tournament in Istanbul, Turkey defeating Elizaveta Kulichkova in the final 6-4, 7-6(4).
2014: First WTA title
The beginning of Vekić's 2014 season started as 2013 had ended, with first round losses in Shenzhen, the Australian Open (in women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles), and at the Pattaya Open. At this point, her last tour win was at the 2013 Tashkent Open.
Vekić was awarded a wild card at the 2014 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, defeating qualifier Olivia Rogowska in the first round before losing in round two to 12th seed Dominika Cibulková. At the Sony Open in Miami, she came through qualifying with wins over Alla Kudryavtseva and Johanna Larsson to face fellow qualifier Kimiko Date-Krumm in round one of the main draw, a match in which the young Croat won in straight sets. In the second round, Vekić faced Svetlana Kuznetsova, beating the Russian 28th seed in straight sets too, before bowing out to Petra Kvitová in round three. At the Monterrey Open in Mexico, Vekić beat Garbiñe Muguruza in the first round in two tie-breaking sets,[6] but lost to Karolína Plíšková in the second round in three sets.
At the 2014 Malaysian Open, Vekić won her first career WTA title and had one of the biggest wins of her career when she defeated the world number 10, Dominika Cibulková in a third set tie-breaker in the final.[7] On her way to the final, she won three of her four matches after losing the first set (against Chan Yung-jan, Kristýna Plíšková and Zhang Shuai).
WTA finals
Singles (1–3)
| Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) |
| WTA Tour Championships (0–0) |
| Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0) |
| Premier (0–0) |
| International (1–3) |
|
| Finals by surface |
|---|
| Hard (1–2) |
| Clay (0–0) |
| Grass (0–1) |
| Carpet (0–0) |
|
| Outcome |
No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Surface |
Opponent |
Score |
|---|
| Runner-up |
1. |
15 September 2012 |
Tashkent Open, Tashkent, Uzbekistan |
Hard |
 Irina-Camelia Begu |
4–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up |
2. |
16 June 2013 |
Aegon Classic, Birmingham, United Kingdom |
Grass |
 Daniela Hantuchová |
6–7(5–7), 4–6 |
| Winner |
1. |
20 April 2014 |
Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Hard |
Dominika Cibulková |
5–7, 7–5, 7–6(7–4) |
| Runner-up |
3. |
28 September 2015 |
Tashkent Open, Tashkent, Uzbekistan |
Hard |
 Nao Hibino |
2–6, 2–6 |
ITF finals (6–8)
Singles (5–8)
| Legend |
| $100,000 tournaments |
| $75,000 tournaments |
| $50,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $15,000 tournaments |
| $10,000 tournaments |
|
| Finals by surface |
| Hard (5–7) |
| Clay (0–1) |
| Grass (0–0) |
| Carpet (0–0) |
|
| Outcome |
No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Surface |
Opponent |
Score |
| Runner-up |
1. |
18 April 2011 |
Hvar, Croatia |
Clay |
 Ema Burgić |
5–7, 6–7(2–7) |
| Winner |
1. |
25 July 2011 |
Chiswick, United Kingdom |
Hard |
 Bojana Bobusic |
3–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| Runner-up |
2. |
15 August 2011 |
Westende, Belgium |
Hard |
 Lu Jiajing |
4–6, 6–7(4–7) |
| Runner-up |
3. |
17 October 2011 |
Lagos, Nigeria |
Hard |
 Elina Svitolina |
4–6, 3–6 |
| Runner-up |
4. |
24 October 2011 |
Lagos, Nigeria |
Hard |
.svg.png) Tamaryn Hendler |
4–6, 5–7 |
| Winner |
2. |
19 March 2012 |
Bangalore, India |
Hard |
 Andrea Koch Benvenuto |
6–2, 6–4 |
| Runner-up |
5. |
16 April 2012 |
Namangan, Uzbekistan |
Hard |
 Olga Puchkova |
6–3, 3–6, 2–6 |
| Winner |
3. |
14 May 2012 |
Fergana, Uzbekistan |
Hard |
Nadiia Kichenok |
6–2, 6–2 |
| Runner-up |
6. |
16 July 2012 |
Campos do Jordão, Brazil |
Hard |
 María Irigoyen |
5–7, 0–6 |
| Runner-up |
7. |
23 July 2012 |
Wrexham, United Kingdom |
Hard |
 Carina Witthöft |
2–6, 7–6(7–4), 2–6 |
| Winner |
4. |
22 April 2013 |
Istanbul, Turkey |
Hard |
Elizaveta Kulichkova |
6–4, 7–6(7–4) |
| Runner-up |
8. |
24 September 2016 |
Saint Petersburg, Russia |
Hard (i) |
Natalia Vikhlyantseva |
1–6, 2–6 |
| Winner |
5. |
23 October 2016 |
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt |
Hard |
 Sara Sorribes Tormo |
6–2, 6–7(7–9), 6–3. |
Doubles (1–0)
| Legend |
| $100,000 tournaments |
| $75,000 tournaments |
| $50,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $15,000 tournaments |
| $10,000 tournaments |
|
| Finals by surface |
| Hard (1–0) |
| Clay (0–0) |
| Grass (0–0) |
| Carpet (0–0) |
|
| Outcome |
No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Surface |
Partner |
Opponents |
Score |
| Winner |
1. |
15 August 2011 |
Westende, Belgium |
Hard |
 Alexandra Walker |
Anouk Delefortrie
Déborah Kerfs |
6–4, 6–3 |
Singles
Doubles
Fed Cup participation
Singles
| Edition |
Stage |
Date |
Location |
Against |
Surface |
Opponent |
W/L |
Score |
2012 Fed Cup
Europe/Africa Zone Group I |
R/R |
2 February 2012 |
Eilat, Israel |
 Poland |
Hard |
Urszula Radwańska |
L |
3–6, 3–6 |
| P/O |
4 February 2012 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Anita Husarić |
W |
6–2, 6–0 |
2013 Fed Cup
Europe/Africa Zone Group I |
R/R |
6 February 2013 |
Eilat, Israel |
 Austria |
Hard |
Yvonne Meusburger |
W |
6–1, 6–3 |
| 7 February 2013 |
 Georgia |
Margalita Chakhnashvili |
W |
6–0, 6–1 |
| 8 February 2013 |
 Belarus |
Ilona Kremen |
W |
6–1, 7–6(7–2) |
| P/O |
9 February 2013 |
Poland |
Agnieszka Radwańska |
L |
3–6, 2–6 |
2014 Fed Cup
Europe/Africa Zone Group I |
R/R |
4 February 2014 |
Budapest, Hungary |
 Netherlands |
Hard (i) |
Kiki Bertens |
L |
2–6, 4–6 |
| 5 February 2014 |
 Luxembourg |
Anne Kremer |
W |
6–1, 6–2 |
| 7 February 2014 |
Belgium |
Yanina Wickmayer |
L |
3–6, 2–6 |
| P/O |
9 February 2014 |
 Turkey |
Melis Sezer |
W |
6–2, 6–1 |
2015 Fed Cup
Europe/Africa Zone Group I |
R/R |
4 February 2015 |
Budapest, Hungary |
 Israel |
Hard (i) |
Julia Glushko |
W |
6–2, 6–7(6–8), 7–5 |
| 5 February 2015 |
 Latvia |
Jeļena Ostapenko |
L |
3–6, 1–6 |
| P/O |
7 February 2015 |
 Serbia |
Aleksandra Krunić |
L |
1–6, 1–6 |
Doubles
References
External links
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