"I think everyone was just as surprised as I was that I won a medal" - Donna Vekic recalls her standout performance at last year's Paris Olympics

Tennis star Donna Vekic achieved one of the most important feats of her career at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris last summer, and recently revealed her shock at leaving the event with a silver medal.

The Croatian was coming off a semifinal appearance at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, where she lost to eventual runner-up Jasmine Paolini. However, Vekic carried the momentum to the clay courts in Paris for the Olympic Games, where she defeated former Grand Slam champions Bianca Andreescu and Coco Gauff before falling to China's Qinwen Zheng in the final.

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The moment felt surreal, says Vekic

In an appearance on the Tennis Insider Club podcast, Vekic spoke on her mindset during those eventful weeks, which featured her best performance at a Grand Slam event and winning a historic medal for Croatia.

"You know after the Olympics, I was like 'now I can finally play tennis relaxed,'" said Vekic. "Even if I don't ever win anything again, it's fine. I have the medal. I'm sure there are a lot more expectations from the outside but the biggest expectations are the one I put on myself.

However, the World No.19 admitted she experienced a spike in popularity in her home country after winning the silver medal,

"What's a little bit different is that I literally cannot go anywhere in Croatia," said Vekic. "It's tough to have some privacy, so that's not the easy part.
"I think the attention in Croatia was so big because it was right after Wimbledon, because Wimbledon is Wimbledon. Everyone was already watching that. And then there was the Olympics, and everyone was just as surprised as I was that I won a medal."

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