‘Adopted Filipina’ Donna Vekic of Croatia embraces the love of Filipinos

FILIPINA PRIDE Alexandra “Alex” Eala will not be the only fan favorite in the Philippine Women’s Open.

“Adopted Filipina” Donna Vekic of Croatia has embraced the love of the Filipinos in her first-ever foray here in spite of serving as Ms. Eala’s foe in the last two overseas tournaments.

“I’m really happy to be here since I played Alex (Eala) in Auckland and in Melbourne. The support for her has been absolutely insane. I previously said maybe you guys will adopt me and I definitely feel like you have,” beamed the WTA No. 72 Ms. Vekic before her Philippine debut on Monday against WTA No. 310 Kyoka Okamura of Japan.

“I have felt the support since I’m here. It’s really nice so that’s one of the reasons why I decided in the end to come here, and I’ve been really enjoying it so far. It’s great to see new tournaments coming in new countries and it’s my first time in the Philippines.”

Ms. Vekic, 29, will come in as the No. 4 seed in the 32-player main draw of the country’s historic WTA 125 hosting, boasting a bevy of milestones marked by a silver medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics, a finals appearance in the 2024 Wimbledon, four WTA titles and a career-best ranking of No. 17 last year.

But Ms. Vekic has been on the receiving end of both Ms. Eala’s mastery and the Filipino crowd’s tenacity this year with two straight losses this month alone.

Ms. Eala, WTA No. 49, beat Ms. Vekic, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand and in the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, 6-4, 6-3, with each occasion featuring a large crowd in favor of the 20-year-old Filipina sensation.

Ms. Vekic can’t wait to experience that no less than at the source of the ever-known Filipino support that has been in full display to any sporting event in any part of the world — regardless if it’s in favor of her or against her given a collision course against Ms. Eala down the stretch of the five-round slugfest.

“So far, the two times have been against me and I hope now it will be for me until I play Alex. I enjoy when it’s a big crowd and good atmosphere. Even if they’re not cheering for me, it’s nice so if it’s ever for me, or against me, I’m ready for that,” added the European, also loving the warmer Southeast Asian weather here.

But for Ms. Vekic, there’s more to it than just experiencing the rocking atmosphere in the country’s first-ever world-class tennis hosting, diving deeper on the volumes of Ms. Eala’s impact now and for the future of the usually unpopular sport here.

“I’ve always wanted to come and visit as a tourist, and I would love to come back eventually, but it’s great to see tennis, especially women’s tennis being played here, and hopefully it will become an even bigger tournament in the future,” she noted.

“It’s amazing to ride on the wave of Alex’s fame and popularity and what she brings to the country and making people more aware of tennis. I’m sure many kids started to play because of her, and that’s great. Hopefully this will bring some more popularity, some more access for kids to play, and who knows, maybe you’ll have another star soon.” — John Bryan Ulanday