{"id":18815,"date":"2025-07-18T11:38:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T11:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/18815\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T11:38:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T11:38:10","slug":"vekic-rallies-wta-legends-for-grand-slam-facility-in-hometown-of-osijek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/18815\/","title":{"rendered":"Vekic rallies WTA legends for \u2018Grand Slam\u2019 facility in hometown of Osijek"},"content":{"rendered":"

A special slice of tennis history was served in Osijek, Croatia on July 14 when WTA legends Martina Hingis, Mary Pierce, Iva Majoli and Marion Bartoli answered a call from Donna Vekic to help celebrate a unique tennis initiative in her hometown.<\/p>\n

Four years in the making, the Big 4 Project is a collaboration between Vekic, the City of Osijek and the County of Osijek-Baranja. As its name suggests, the scheme has involved the construction of four tennis courts with surfaces identical to those at the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.<\/p>\n

\"Osijek<\/p>\n

\n

Donna Tennis Team\n <\/p>\n

It is believed that, thanks to Vekic\u2019s vision and the support of local authorities, Osijek is the first city in the world where citizens can play on clay, grass and Grand Slam-quality hard courts, all year round, for free.<\/p>\n

The locals certainly turned out for Monday\u2019s festivities, which saw the major champions play super tie-break exhibitions at each of the courts, situated in different neighbourhoods. Completing the Slam set with its unveiling on Monday, the Australian Open-inspired GreenSet cushioned acrylic hard court can be found in the courtyard of an elementary school in the Retfala district.<\/p>\n

Later, the tennis stars converged on Osijek Tennis Center in King Tomislav Park, where a US Open replica is surfaced with Laykold acrylic. Hingis and Vekic played singles before the legends treated spectators to an entertaining doubles contest. Croatian hope Nera Skender, 13, also had a chance to showcase her skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Donna and Iva told me about the project, I knew I wanted to be part of it,\u201d said former World No.1 Hingis. \u201cFour different Grand Slam surfaces, available to children and the community, is an incredible achievement. I enjoyed every moment on court.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hingis<\/p>\n

\n

Donna Tennis Team\n <\/p>\n

Bartoli, the 2013 Wimbledon champion, concurred.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe court quality, the energy of the crowd, and the commitment from the city, the county and the Vekic family all show the value placed on sport here,\u201d she said. \u201cI am honored to be involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Already, the courts are fully booked 95 percent of the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that we have given children, young people and adults the opportunity to play tennis completely free of charge makes me extremely proud,\u201d said Vekic. \u201cI hope that on one of these courts, a child will fall in love with this sport as I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vekic<\/p>\n

\n

Donna Tennis Team\n <\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, following a reception held at the city\u2019s town hall, Vekic and Osijek mayor Ivan Radic paid a visit to the Ivan Stark Center for Education & Care.<\/p>\n

Vekic has financed the construction of a children\u2019s sensory playground at the center, using funds awarded to her by the Croatian government for winning the silver medal at the Paris Olympics last year.<\/p>\n

Sensory playgrounds, which can be particularly beneficial for the development of children with special educational needs, are designed to stimulate and engage multiple senses with features such as textured surfaces, aromatic plants, and calming sounds.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A special slice of tennis history was served in Osijek, Croatia on July 14 when WTA legends Martina…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18816,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[99,428,1959],"class_list":{"0":"post-18815","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-tennis","10":"tag-text"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}