Donna Vekic had a couple of Grand Slam champions in mind when asked about which players could follow in the footsteps of Serena Williams.
Vekic is currently competing at the Queen’s Club Championships, where Williams recently returned to action, partnering with Victoria Mboko in doubles and winning her first match in nearly four years.
The Croatian wasn’t expecting to play after falling short in qualifying, but was given a second chance as a lucky loser. Since then, she has strung together four straight wins to reach the final.
Speaking after booking her place in the final, Vekic was asked if there were any other Grand Slam champions she would like to see make a comeback.
Sloane Stephens, among Grand Slam champions, tipped for a comeback
In reply, Vekic pointed out that Sloane Stephens has already made something of a comeback this year. After stepping away from tennis last August, Stephens returned at the Miami Open back in March.
She later played her first singles match since 2018 at the Charleston Open before returning to Wimbledon for the first time since 2017. Although she lost early on at SW19 and again at Eastbourne, Kerber reached the third round of Queen’s Club before losing to Leylah Fernandez.
Vekic Picks Chris Evert and Pam Shriver as Her Ideal Comebacks
After beating Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the final at Queen’s, Vekic was asked in her post-match interview about which retired player she would most like to see return.
She picked Chris Evert, a familiar name for her, having trained at Evert’s academy as a teenager and spent time working with her brother, John.
Pam Shriver was another name Vekic mentioned. She had helped coach Vekic during her run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2024.
“Maybe Chrissie Evert,” Vekic responded in her post-match press conference at Queen’s. “She’s always been a bit of a mentor to me before — I would love to see Pam Shriver, as well. That would be great (smiling),” she added.
Shriver is a 22-time Grand Slam doubles champion and when asked whether she’d be interested in partnering up with her again, Vekic replied:
“Oh, I would but I don’t think she’d like to be playing with me (smiling). She always says: ‘Oh I want to see you play more doubles’ and I’m like: ‘Yeah maybe in another lifetime’.”
How Donna Vekic’s ranking will change after Queen’s
Vekic has previously reached as high as world number 17, but she arrived at Queen’s ranked outside the top 70 after a difficult year.
Her performance this week has been a positive sign, and she is now set to climb back up the rankings following her run to the final of the WTA 500 event in London.
The latest live rankings project her to move up to world number 44 thanks to her strong showing.
If she can get past Emma Raducanu in the final, Vekic could move even higher, with a potential jump up to world number 32.
Reaching that mark would be significant, as it could put her in position to earn a seeded spot at Wimbledon.
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