Donna Vekic had considered quitting tennis, especially when she faced challenges returning to form after knee surgery in 2021.
Now she’s glad she didn’t give up.
The 28-year-old Croatian reached her first Grand Slam semifinal after 43 major tournaments, defeating qualifier Lulu Sun 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
“Those few years were really tough. I doubted if I could ever reach my previous level,” she said. “So reaching my best result ever at a Slam now makes me really proud of myself and my team. I’m grateful to them for believing in me when I didn’t.”
She will face French Open runner-up Jasmine Paolini for a spot in the final. Paolini, seeded No. 7, beat No. 19 Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-1 to become the first Italian woman in Wimbledon’s semifinals.
“If you had told me before Roland Garros that I would make the final there and reach the Wimbledon semifinals,” Paolini said with a laugh, “I would have thought you were crazy.”
Until last week, Paolini had lost all three of her matches at Wimbledon. And until Tuesday, she had lost all three of her matches against Navarro — who defeated Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka earlier in the tournament.
“Today, she played completely differently than in our previous matches. Before, I was the one taking control, starting points well and controlling rallies,” Navarro said.
“But today, it was the opposite. From the very first point, she was dominant. I struggled to respond.”
