Donna Vekic

professional tennis player - Instagram @donnavekic

[Taylor Fritz @Taylor_Fritz97]

Massive tennis ball rant incoming.

After playing Washington, Cincinnati, and the US Open, plus a full week of training in New York beforehand, I got a VERY good feel for the Wilson US Open balls we were using and know EXACTLY what they should feel like off my racket. They were good balls, and I have no complaints about what we played with at those tournaments this summer.

But since coming home, my last two days of practice with Wilson US Open balls have been miserable. They are sold, marketed, and labeled as the same balls, but the way they come off my racket and feel couldn’t be more different.

After that many weeks using the tournament balls, I know exactly how they respond. The balls I’m practicing with feel like literal green-dot kids’ balls: incredibly soft, dead, and going nowhere. I’m playing on a court with a similar speed to the courts at the Open as well just to be clear. I’ve tried balls from multiple cases to rule out a bad batch, and unfortunately, it’s been the same across the board. Other players I’ve spoken to since the Open have described the same thing.

The amount of effort I have to use to just produce a regular rally ball with these balls is insane. I’m having to throw my whole body into shots and swing out of my shoes just to produce a solid rally ball. Beyond being frustrating, it feels like it’s creating bad habits (I would never swing this aggressively normally or else I’d sent balls to the back fence or mistime every other shot) I’m having to adjust the way I hit just to compensate for a ball that behaves nothing like the one we use in competition.

That leads to the obvious the bigger issue and the reason for the rant: we need to be able to train with the same balls we compete with, and in the past I feel like this wasn’t usually an issue.

It didn’t used to feel this way. There was consistency, and any small differences could usually be explained by the court or conditions. Over the last year and a half, though, I’ve noticed such a significant difference between retail balls from both Wilson and Dunlop and their tournament equivalents, which are supposed to be identical, that it completely changes how you want to construct points and take risks on shots and just play points in general. I’m not exaggerating it really is making that big of a difference at the pro level.

The only positive I can take out of playing with these balls the last couple days is that it takes such more extra effort in every shot i hit at least it has been good cardio consistently having to swing so hard all the time 😂

It’s disappointing that this has started to feel normal. Training is a lot less enjoyable, and a lot less productive, when you’re spending it practicing with balls that are so different from what you’ll use when it matters.

Okay, rant over. Everyone go enjoy watching the rest of the Open :)

[Owen @kostekcanu]

Vekic in r1 action!

[Donna Vekic @DonnaVekic]

@mariahcandylamb Me too

[Donna Vekic @DonnaVekic]

@VenusGauff Omg

[Donna Vekic @DonnaVekic]

@peterjohnston48 @Kooyong_Classic Of course

[The Tennis Letter @TheTennisLetter]

The moment Donna Vekic beat Raducanu to win the Queen’s title

A few months ago, she was outside the top 100 & had to play qualifying for multiple events this year

She kept fighting through the tough moments

That’s why she’s the Queen of Queen’s

🇭🇷🥹

[Lorena Popa 🕵️‍♀️🎾 @popalorena]

Crazy Queen

[Lorena Popa 🕵️‍♀️🎾 @popalorena]

❤️💚

[Lorena Popa 🕵️‍♀️🎾 @popalorena]

Most people bring Big Ben souvenirs home from London, Donna said the trophy is more interesting🏆
📸 Adrian Dennis

[wta @WTA]

LONDON CHAMPION! 🏆

@DonnaVekic is victorious at Queen’s winning in straight sets against Raducanu!

#HSBCChampionships

[wta @WTA]

The Crown is Acquired 🏆

@DonnaVekic | #HSBCChampionships

[HSBC Championships @QueensTennis]

Winning in the capital 🏆

@DonnaVekic 🫶 #HSBCChampionships

[Vlada Republike Hrvatske @VladaRH]

Čestitamo od srca 🇭🇷 tenisačici @DonnaVekic na osvajanju londonskog turnira @WTA 500 @QueensTennis. 🏆🎾

Bravo Donna, navijamo i za nove uspjehe na nadolazećim turnirima!

[Ella Ling @EllaLing23]

Congratulation to @DonnaVekic on a fantastic week here at @QueensTennis 🏆 @iloveellesse @yonextennis_uk @ShutterstockNow @CanonUKandIE #tennisphotography

[wta @WTA]

CHAMPION IN LONDON 👑

@DonnaVekic comes out victorious after defeating Raducanu in straight sets 6-0, 7-6(6)!

#HSBCChampionships

[HSBC Championships @QueensTennis]

The new QUEEN of Queen's 👑

@DonnaVekic | #HSBCChampionships

[HSBC Championships @QueensTennis]

What a performance. What a run to the final.

@DonnaVekic | #HSBCChampionships

[wta @WTA]

Semifinals bound! ✨

@DonnaVekic battles through in three sets against Pliskova 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

#HSBCChampionships

[Donna Vekic @DonnaVekic]

@popalorena @theronsswift @OzTennisFan5 They left without me !!!

[Dragan Primorac @draganprimorac_]

Sa sjajnom Donnom Vekić, četverostrukom WTA prvakinjom, osvajačicom srebrne medalje na Olimpijskim igrama u Parizu 2024. i polufinalisticom Wimbledona 2024. Bilo mi je veliko zadovoljstvo družiti se i sudjelovati na sjajnom Forumu u organizaciji Donna Tennis Teama.