Donna Vekic Undergoes a Surgery After Australian Open 2021 Heroics, Vows to Return Soon

Croatian tennis star Donna Vekic, who turned heads with her performance at the Australian Open 2021, has revealed that she has undergone knee surgery and will be out of action for a short while. Vekic shared a picture of herself on her Instagram page and tagged it with a message saying that she successfully underwent a minor surgical procedure on her right knee in Berne, Switzerland.

The picture shows the Croatian star flashing a smile from her hospital bed.

Donna Vekic has begun her rebab post-surgery to fix injury she may have suffered at the Australian Open 2021

Vekic further wrote that she has already begun her rehabilitation program under the watchful eyes of her fitness consultants and is looking forward “to being back on court soon!”.

The 29th-ranked Croat also thanked her family, friends, and team for their messages of love and support.

The 24-year-old Vekic made the fourth round of the Australian Open before going down in straight sets to American Jennifer Brady, the eventual losing finalist.

Her most notable performance in the Major came in the third round when she came back from a set down to beat Estonian Kaia Kanepi.

Donna Vekic had scored a fairytale comeback win over Kaia Kanepi at the Australian Open

It was a memorable victory not just because of the odds against which it was achieved but also considering the fact that the Estonian was coming off a sensational upset win over 2020 champion Sofia Kenin and was the more fancied opponent going into the clash.

In one of the many abiding moments from the tournament this year, the Croat broke down during the on-court interview after the game as the feeling of coming out on the winning side of an edge-of-the-seat battle sunk in.

While it’s not clear from her post where she picked up the injury, it’s quite likely that she sustained it during the Australian Open.

Australian Open 2021 was marred by a spate of injuries to top players

The year’s first Major was marred by injury-enforced pullouts, while many battled through pain and physical discomfort. Rising Italian star Matteo Berrettini withdrew from his pre-quarters clash against eventual semifinalist Stefanos Tsitsipas, citing abdominal strain.

Norwegian star Casper Ruud, too, forfeited his fourth-round tie to Russian Andrey Rublev after picking up an injury in the match.

Top-seed and eventual champion Novak Djokovic suffered an abdominal muscle tear in his five-set win over American Taylor Fritz but battled on. Reigning US Open champion Dominic Thiem, who fell to Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round, also revealed “physical issues” during the game.

Read More: Amanda Anisimova Gets Into Heated Exchange With Donna Vekic Over MTO at Italian Open 2020

Dimitrov, himself, struggled with back spasms in his quarter-final loss to Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev.