Croatia's Donna Vekic receives a certificate after her loss to Columbia's Camila Osorio in the final of the WTA 125 Philippine Women's Open, January 31, 2026 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
MANILA – Croatia's Donna Vekic is bringing home with her memories of the Filipino warmth, despite falling short in the inaugural Philippine Women's Open final on Saturday.
Vekic settled for a runner-up finish in the WTA 125 tournament, losing to Camila Osorio of Colombia in a three-set thriller, 6-2, 3-6, 5-7, at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
READ: Colombia's Camila Osorio wins inaugural PH Women's Open
"I need time to process, maybe look at the match, think about it. Right now I'm too emotional. It was very close, she was playing really well. Nothing to say, it was really close, it's a tough one. It's okay, we move forward," she said at the post-match press conference on Saturday.
"I really enjoyed my week here. I played five great matches. And even though I lost today, I'm gonna take a lot of positives out of this week," Vekic added.
The World No. 72 player, who was dubbed "Tita Donna" by Filipino fans, said the support of the local crowd throughout the week was one of the best memories in the tiff.
Vekic was responsive to the Filipino fans' cheers and banners, even flashing a smile when they would applaud her after rallies.
"I think the crowd support has been the best thing the whole week. It really, I had a lot of fun playing out there in front of everyone. It was really pushing us as well today to give our best and push ourselves to the limit. Hopefully they enjoyed," she said.
Before reaching the WTA 125 tournament's penultimate match, Vekic had to overcome five opponents, winning all of those matches in just two sets.
Her toughest challenges came from Russia's Tatiana Prozorova in the semifinals (6-2, 6-4) and China's Zhu Lin in the quarterfinals (6-4, 6-3).
"I think it will be really good for me going forward. Hopefully, I can take some confidence out of this week. And you know, having played five matches, you can't replicate this in practice. So it's definitely means a lot. Hoping I can continue with good results going forward," Vekic added.
For now, the Croatian tennis player heads home to regroup before returning to action.