Somewhere That’s Green: Donna Vekic kickstarts clay swing with Charleston return

CHARLESTON—Before Donna Vekic had even stepped to the line, she was already serving.

The former Wimbledon semifinalist began the 2026 season with an apparel switch to Ellesse, resulting in a high-fashion scoreboard headshot that stood in stark contrast to opponent Ajla Tomljanovic’s more standard WTA-approved portrait.

After winning 12 of the final 14 points to outlast her good friend in three sets, Vekic met me in an almost-empty Credit One Charleston Open interview room—a tournament staffer popped her head out to let us know we weren’t alone—and laughed off the observation. French fry boat in hand, she promised a sportier (but still chic) update courtesy of the tour’s annual Indian Wells marketing photoshoot.

It was a moment reminiscent the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, when the Croat’s equally glowed-up Olympic credential photo upstaged the field and presaged a run to the podium.

But the 18 months since that silver-medal finish in Paris have been decidedly less glamorous for Vekic, who turns 30 years old in June. From a career-high of No. 17, she dropped down to No. 79 at the end of last year and continued that slide into 2026, falling out of the Top 100 for the first time since 2022.

“I’ve definitely had a good level of tennis from the beginning of the year,” Vekic insisted after defeating Tomljanovic, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. “I lost the first round to Alex [Eala] in Auckland and then I lost to Mirra [Andreeva] in Australia. Those two were really tough matches but I played really well. I made the finals [at a WTA 125k] in Manila, too, so I’m playing really good tennis. I just need to believe in myself a bit more in these tough situations in matches.”

This isn’t the first time Vekic has had to fight for her career. Indeed, it was at the end of 2022 where, as a qualifier, she played out of a slump to reach the finals of a WTA 500 tournament in San Diego.

“It’s always challenging, it’s always tough,” she said of her latest comeback. “I’m definitely more towards the end of my career. The way I look at it is just to give it my best. If it works out, great. If it doesn’t, I’ve had a pretty good career with a lot to be proud of.”

Despite a full life outside tennis—including a sparkling new collaboration with Dash Diamonds Ltd.—Vekic found herself unwilling to let 15 years on tour simply fade away. After missing out on the Miami Open main draw, she opted to extend her stay in North America past the Sunshine Swing, working in a Boca Raton practice bloc ahead of her first Charleston appearance in over a decade.

I’m trying to play a little bit more freely. Sometimes when you want it so bad, you have the opposite effect. You get tighter, more nervous. So, I’m just trying to relax a bit. Donna Vekic

“I just wanted to play matches,” she told me. “Every year I try to do this huge preparation for clay, and every year it goes to shit. So, I wanted to switch things up a little bit. Usually, I like to go back home because the trip to Indian Wells and Miami is quite long but this year, but instead we stuck around.”

Buoyed by practice sets with Tomljanovic, horseback riding in nearby Wellington, and a return of former coach Pam Shriver—as part of racquet sponsor Yonex’s nascent Mindset and Performance Program—a refreshed Vekic breezed through two qualifying matches over the weekend only to book a decidedly unwelcome first-round with her bestie. In their inimitable style, they celebrated the news with a down home Sunday dinner on Daniel Island.

“I’d just seen her right after my [final round qualifying] match and she was like, ‘I hope we don’t play each other,’ and I didn’t even know she was playing a qualifier. We were on the phone later about something else when she asked me if the draw’s out and neither of us knew because we try not to look at the draw. Five minutes later, she called back like, ‘Are you fucking joking?’ Her sister sent her the message we were playing each other and I was like, ‘Oh my god, out of eight people!’

“We’re always battling it out in practice, so I’m surprised it didn’t go 7-6 in the third!”

Instead, Vekic rallied from a set and a break down to win her first green-clay match since her last trip to Charleston in 2015.

“It’s faster than the red clay, and it’s green,” she joked. “So, I try to imagine it’s a grass court!”

With Wimbledon less than three months away, Vekic has found her somewhere that’s green—and a mantra she hopes will help her serve as well on the court as off.

“I’m trying to play a little bit more freely,” she told me. “Sometimes when you want it so bad, you have the opposite effect. You get tighter, more nervous.

“So, I’m just trying to relax a bit.”

Vekic will aim for that kind of casual elegance against 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the second round.