WATCH: Donna Vekic welcomed home with fanfare; Croatian chant her name in celebration of her silver medal at Olympics 2024
Donna Vekic is back home in Croatia after her silver medal exploits at the Paris Olympics, and her countrymen couldn't be happier to have her home. The tennis star was welcomed with a lot of fanfare, as audiences cheered her name and threw confetti in the air for her reception.
Vekic got her campaign at the Games off to a strong start, taking down Italy's Lucia Bronzetti and Canada's Bianca Andreescu in her first two rounds without dropping a single set. Up next, the Croatian pulled off her first major upset of the game, beating second seed Coco Gauff 7-6 (7), 6-2.
Donna Vekic then beat Marta Kostyuk in her quarterfinals and followed it up with a win against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova to set up a gold medal match with Zheng Qinwen. While she fell short against the Chinese in straight sets, Vekic returned home with a silver medal and is being celebrated across Croatia for her achievement.
Watch a video of the celebrations below:
For Donna Vekic, this silver-medal finish came after a challenging journey. Speaking to the press after her win, she explained the ups and downs she faced before the Games,
"I had pain in my arm, pain in my ankle. I was sick. Everything was happening all at once, and when we came here, first our flight was canceled. We arrived late. Everything was going wrong. When we had our first practice, I told my coach I was coughing so bad I couldn't hit two shots in a row,” she was quoted as saying by Reuters.
She then added:
“One week later, we have a medal. So it's been absolutely, absolutely incredible. When you play for your country, it's definitely a little bit more special. It's completely giving it 200 percent,” she added.
Donna Vekic's schedule after the 2024 Paris Olympics
After the Paris Olympics, Donna Vekic competed at the Cincinnati Open in mid-August, where she was faced with a disappointing result. The 28-year-old lost in her very first match, playing American qualifier Ashlyn Krueger.
Post that, Vekic moved on to the U.S. Open, where she had a better performance. Entering the event as the 24th seed, she took down Kimberly Birrell 6-4, 6-4 in her opening match. She then sailed through her next two rounds to set up a rematch of the Paris Olympics finals with Zheng Qinwen. In a repeat of that performance, Qinwen emerged victorious yet again, although Donna Vekic did manage to push her opponent to three sets this time around.