Donna Vekic’s Manila final run not enough to avoid drop to the edge of the top-100 - " Hopefully I can take some confidence out of this week"

Donna Vekic suffered a defeat in the final of the WTA 125 Manila, and despite a good week — with four consecutive wins — the Croatian sees herself drop in the ranking to the edge of the top-100. The Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist will occupy her lowest ranking since 2022 starting this Monday.

The 29-year-old player knew that this start of the season would not be easy, with an important number of points to defend. Back in 2025, her season began with a notable run at the Australian Open, reaching the fourth round — points she had to defend in Melbourne. However, she was eliminated in the first round by eighth seed Mirra Andreeva, which left her outside the top-100 in the live ranking.

Even with just one week before the next WTA ranking update, Vekic quickly traveled to Manila in the Philippines, with the possibility of recovering part of the lost points. She arrived as the fourth seed at the tournament and advanced to the final, taking advantage of her favourite status over rivals such as Okamura (No. 310), Tkacheva (No. 480), Lin Zhu (No. 164) and Prozorova (No. 174).

In the final, she faced Colombian Camila Osorio — who had come through the draw eliminating local favourite Alexandra Eala. The South American staged a remarkable comeback against Vekic, coming from a set down to claim the title 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. “I think the crowd support has been the best thing the whole week. I had a lot of fun playing out there in front of everyone. It was really pushing us today to give our best and push ourselves to the limit. Hopefully the crowd enjoyed it.”

“I really enjoyed my week here. I played five great matches, and even though I lost today, I’m going to take a lot of positives out of this week,” Vekic said in a press conference. “I think it will be really good for me going forward. Hopefully I can take some confidence out of this week. Having played five matches, you cannot replicate this in practice, so it definitely means a lot. I’m hoping I can continue with some good results going forward.”

Vekic thus lost 150 points — considering her performances in Melbourne last week and Manila this week. She will drop 23 positions in the ranking, placing her at No. 95 — on the edge of leaving the top-100. The former world No. 17 did not qualify for Abu Dhabi or Qatar, but she is entered in the qualifying draw of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships starting February 14.

On the other hand, Colombian Camila Osorio had a remarkable week, defeating Eala, Solana Sierra, and Vekic — three players who had a higher ranking than her. The 24-year-old player regained confidence at the start of the season, winning her first WTA 125.

“It’s really important to me because it’s the first time I’ve won a tournament on hard court outside of my home. It’s very important,” she said in her press conference. “I had a tough beginning to the start of the year, so winning these matches means a lot to me. Obviously, being here for the first time, it’s unreal, basically a fairy tale for me.”

Osorio owns three WTA 250 titles and has reached two additional finals in her career so far. At 24, she has already reached world No. 33 — her best career ranking — and after her run in Manila she moves up four positions to No. 80.

“This changed everything confidence-wise, because I needed it. I needed these matches. My goal for this year, and something I worked on in preseason, is to be more consistent. That’s the key in women’s tennis,” added the South American. “I want to play my game more freely, do what I’ve been working on, and keep growing. I want to keep developing my game and see where it takes me. In preseason I felt very good, then the last tournaments didn’t work, but now it’s clicking. Hopefully God gives me a hand and it will be a good year.”