Donna Vekic is back in a WTA finale, and the reigning Olympic silver medalist is looking to make the most of her chance in the Philippine Women's Open.
World no. 72 Donna Vekic has been on a tear this week, winning all of her four matches at the Philippine Women’s Open in straight sets.
Still, the reigning Olympic silver medalist admits it's hardly been easy.
Before coming into this WTA 125 tournament, Vekic last reached a tournament finals in 2024, the same year the Croatian netter won her Olympic medal.
For Vekic, the results now are speaking of how she was able to hurdle the physical and mental challenges of a rough career patch — which led to her fall in the WTA rankings after reaching a career-high world no. 17 in early 2025.
Now that she’s rediscovered her winning ways, Vekic is hoping to ride the wave.
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“Yeah, it's not been... The last year hasn't been the most easy in terms of results and everything. So it feels really good to have a couple of matches in a row to be winning, to be back in the finals,” Vekic said after booking her Philippine Women's Open Finals slot.
“I’m really happy and I'm really proud of my performance this week because it was some mental battles as well,” she continued.
A long time coming
Of course, it wasn’t just the past few days that has led to Vekic’s success.
Even during her earlier tournaments in 2026, where she met with Filipina ace Alex Eala twice ahead of the Australian Open, Vekic believed that she was already on the right direction.
With a chance at a WTA 125 title to begin her year, Vekic is more than ready to pounce at the opportunity.
“I worked really hard in the offseason. I had six weeks of great training. Even in Australia, I was playing really good tennis. I had some tough draws. First in Auckland against Alex, it was a great match as well. And then against Mirra [Andreeva] in Melbourne, another great match,” said Vekic.
“So I was playing good tennis, but I was missing a little bit of confidence and wins to go through those matches. And that's what I'm getting through here. And hopefully this will help me for the next tournaments,” she continued.
However, Vekic’s bid for the title will be easier said than done as she faces a red-hot Camila Osorio in the Final slated Saturday, January 31.
Osorio bounced Eala, and is coming off of a momentum building 6-0, 6-1 demolition of 3-seed Solana Sierra in the semifinals.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.