Los Angeles devastation gives Vekic “new perspective” as coach Shriver misses Australian Open

Vekic discusses new coaching change, post-Australian Open plans and how Los Angeles wildfires have kept LA-based coach Shriver away from Melbourne

Donna Vekic at the 2023 Australian Open Image Credit: AI/Reuters/Panoramic

Jamie Malachy

January 12, 2025

Donna Vekic will have to navigate the first Grand Slam of the new season without coach Pam Shriver, who has remained at home in Los Angeles after devastating wildfires engulfed large swathes of the city.

With the situation remaining very much active, Shriver decided not to travel to Melbourne as originally planned. In an interview with Sasa Ozmo for Tennis Majors, Vekic was keen to stress that Shriver is safe but that the fast-moving nature of the situation in LA meant that she was best-placed remaining in California.

“I simply can’t believe what’s happening,” said Vekic, who spent the off-season training in the Californian city.

“Pam is there at the moment, and she is OK. She should’ve been here, but she couldn’t come because of the fires. We all hope that the situation improves as soon as possible. Just thinking about how many people have lost everything gives you a new perspective on life.”

vekic satisfied with start to life under new coach bajin

Despite the absence of Shriver in Melbourne this year, Vekic has been accompanied by Sasha Bajin – a new addition to the Croatian’s coaching team.

Bajin, who previously worked with Naomi Osaka and Karolina Pliskova, among others, joined the team in December and Vekic is thus far satisfied with how things are progressing.

“I just wanted a change and I wanted to bring in someone experienced, which he certainly is,” Vekic explained.

“He’s got great energy, he’s always positive, and so far everything is going just like we wanted. We’re not working on one or two things in particular. It would be more than welcome if Sasha could help me improve every aspect of my game by a few percent.

“My serve is pretty good, but I want it to be more consistent week in, week out. It would mean a lot for my game.”

While further fine-tuning her craft makes up the day-to-day workload for Bajin and Vekic, the current world No 19 is clear about her ultimate goal – to win a Grand Slam title.

Vekic has been getting closer in recent years, narrowly losing last year’s epic Wimbledon semi-final to Jasmine Paolini while also reaching the last eight at the Australian Open two years ago.

One key to her success is keeping a low profile and resting sufficiently in between matches.

“I rest. I try to conserve as much energy as possible. To do that, I look to spend as little time as possible at the tennis. There are a lot of people present in the first few days, and it just wears you out.

“I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed [in Monaco, after the Australian Open], since we did the pre-season in Los Angeles.”

vekic sympathetic to sinner and swiatek

Like most people in the tennis world who have taken the time to understand all the facts, Vekic takes a sympathetic view to the doping controversies that have surrounded Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek in recent months.

“No matter how careful you are, something like that can always happen. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I believe that they didn’t take anything (forbidden) intentionally. I believe and hope everything will turn out OK. It can happen to anyone—the more careful we are, the better.”

When asked about Emma Raducanu’s recent admission that she opted to suffer swollen insect bites rather than risk using an antiseptic spray, Vekic’s explains that she accepts a certain level of risk and players can perhaps become too wrapped up in avoiding possible sources of contamination.

“We shouldn’t go that far,” she says.

“I am careful, but I am not obsessed with it 24/7. If it’s going to be like that, nobody should even eat chocolate in fear of contamination. I would lose my mind to go that far.”

a welcome return to top form puts grand slam title back in focus

After reaching a career-high ranking of No 18 towards the end of last season, Vekic has already improved on her Australian Open result from twelve months ago by reaching the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Diane Parry.

Sitting at 19th in the world currently, 28-year-old Vekic is posting some of the most impressive results of her career – none more so than a last-four finish in SW19 last summer followed quickly by an Olympic silver medal in Paris, both of which she is looking to build on this season by winning a maiden Grand Slam title.

“Those are the four most important tournaments of the year. I want to go as far as I can at the majors,” she concluded.

“I would love to win Wimbledon the most, but I won’t complain if I win any of the others (smiling).”