For the first time since 2024, Donna Vekic is a WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz champion. And for the first time in her career, the 29-year-old has claimed a title at the WTA 500 level, defeating home favorite Emma Raducanu 6-0, 7-6 (6) in 1 hour and 48 minutes to win her fifth career singles crown at the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club.
Vekic won the first seven games of the match to take full control early, but Raducanu rode a wave of momentum to nearly claim the second set and force a decider. In the end, though, there was no denying the Croatian, who rallied from 5-2 down and came through in the second-set tiebreak.
She converted her fifth championship point to complete her journey from losing in the second round of qualifying to lifting the trophy on the grass in London. With the victory, Vekic became the sixth lucky loser, and the first since 2023, to win a WTA title.
Here are the previous lucky-loser champions:
Kay McDaniel (World No. 73) — Atlanta, 1980
Olga Danilovic (No. 187) — Moscow International, 2018
Coco Gauff (No. 110) — Linz, 2019
Maria Timofeeva (No. 246) — Budapest, 2023
Nao Hibino (No. 136) — Prague, 2023
Sara Sorribes Tormo (No. 95) — Cleveland, 2023
Vekic is also the first lucky loser ever to win a title at the WTA 500 level or higher.
More to come…