Croatian star, Donna Vekic got off to a flying start to her campaign in Melbourne! She literally outclassed France’s Diane Parry in the first-round match by 6-4,6-4. Vekic had a decent outing in 2024. She reached the SF at the Wimbledon Championships and then she also won the silver medal at the Paris Olympics. However, Donna Vekic looked pretty ordinary after that. In November 2024, Vekic’s then-coach, Nikola Horvat parted ways with her on mutual terms for family commitments. Although Pam Shriver remained with the Croatian, Vekic then brought in Sascha Bajin in her team. What has Sascha brought to her team, though?

Well, this 40-year-old German coach comes up with a vast experience in the racquet sport. He has a strong CV, which includes stints with players like Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka. Sascha Bajin was the hitting part for Serena Williams for almost eight years. He coached Naomi Osaka from 2017 to 2019 and during that phase the Japanese two Grand Slam titles (US Open and the AO). Due to his incredible contributions to Osaka’s success at that time, Bajin was named the WTA Coach of the Year in 2018.

Apart from his stints with Williams and Osaka, Sascha Bajin also worked with Dayana Yastremska, Karolína Plíšková, Sloane Stephens, Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka and many more superstars of women’s tennis. Last year, he even had a brief spell with the American star, Alycia Parks during the Sunshine Double tournaments. What does Donna Vekic have to say about the inclusion of this renowned coach in her team?

Recently, during her post-match interview at the 2025 AO, Donna Vekic was asked to reflect a bit on the contributions of Sascha Bajin in her team so far. In reply to that, the Croatian revealed that Bajin brought, “A lot of intensity, good energy. We had a really good preseason, worked really hard. So I was a little bit upset that I lost the first three matches of the season. I was like ‘come on we worked so hard.’ I was practicing so well but for me even if I lost today, it wouldn’t have changed a lot.”

Just for information: Donna Vekic lost both of her singles matches at the 2025 United Cup against Leylah Fernandez (CAN) and Coco Gauff (USA). After that, she was even defeated in the R32 of the Adelaide International by Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva by 2-6,3-6. So, Vekic is now happy to make this turnaround in this mega event. Further speaking on her new coach, she added, “I think he’s a great coach, has a lot of experience and hopefully we can have some good results together.”

Apart from Bajin, the former American tennis player, Pam Shriver has also become an integral part of Donna Vekic’s team. We saw Sascha Bajin in Donna Vekic’s box during this first-round match at the 2025 AO. Has Shriver also traveled with her, though?

“We’re very sad that she’s not here with us” – Donna Vekic on Pam Shriver’s absence at the 2025 AO

The International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee, Pam Shriver joined Donna Vekic’s team at the end of the 2022 season. Vekic shared in an interview that she was so impressed with Pam Shriver’s analysis of her game at the San Diego Open that she hired her on the spot. She also revealed that Shriver is like a consultant, coach, and mentor to her.

However, Shriver couldn’t make it to Melbourne this year. Reason? She had to stay in Los Angeles to assist her family and manage the impact of the fires. She shared a post on her X handle saying, “With @AustralianOpen start @espn & @DonnaVekic playing later today, I am back in LA helping manage my family’s needs. The MVP athletes in charge of hitting fire targets with water dumps from helicopters and planes have been showing extraordinary hand-eye skills.”

Then after her thumping victory against Parry in the first round, Donna Vekic also shared a few words on the American. She said, “It’s a very difficult situation for her. She’s home in LA, her house is okay for now, but so many have lost everything, and it’s a very horrible situation.” Vekic further added, “We were doing our preseason in LA this year, so we were just there two weeks ago. I really cannot believe what’s happening. We’re very sad that she’s not here with us. We really miss her, and I hope everything will be okay.”

Not only that, Donna Vekic even sent her love and support to LA from Melbourne by writing “❤️ LA” on the camera lens after the match. With Shriver’s absence, now it’ll be interesting to see if Sascha Bajin can help Vekic make a deeper run at the ‘Melbourne Slam’. What are your predictions for Vekic at the 2025 AO?