Breezing Through: Croatia’s Vekic Headlines Qualifying Winners

FORMER WIMBLEDON SEMIFINALIST ADVANCES IN CREDIT ONE STADIUM

A pair of onetime Top-20 stars — France’s Kristina Mladenovic and Croatia’s Donna Vekic — and a slate of 11 Americans took the courts as the qualifying rounds got underway on a windswept Saturday at the Credit One Charleston Open.

This was relatively new territory for Vekic, who only a year ago was positioned at a career high inside the Top 20 in the PIF WTA Rankings. That the now-117th-ranked baseliner needed a qualifying wildcard this week spoke to her precipitous slide in the second half of 2025, a year that saw her part ways with a pair of coaches in Pam Shriver and Sascha Bajin. (On Saturday, the Hall of Famer Shriver was back courtside supporting her former mentee.)

Appearing in Charleston for the first time since 2015, the four-time tour-level titlist, 2024 Wimbledon semifinalist and 2024 Olympic silver medalist advanced with a businesslike 6-2, 6-2 win over American Sachia Vickery in Credit One Stadium.

Mladenovic, a nine-time Grand Slam champion between women’s and mixed doubles who has also reached the Top 10 in singles, wasn’t as fortunate. Facing former Texas A&M standout Mary Stoiana, she fell, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Ayana Akli, a former ITA All-American at the University of South Carolina, defeated Italy’s Tatiana Pieri, 6-0, 6-3, while Dutchwoman Eva Vedder withstood the unorthodox, off-pace ground game of Japan’s Aoi Ito, winning, 6-2, 6-1, in just under one hour. Polina Kudermetova, younger sister to 2021 Credit One Charleston Open champion Veronika Kudermetova, moved on with a three-set dismissal of former Auburn All-American Carolyn Ansari.

The match of the day came on Court 3, where Georgian Ekaterine Gorgodze outlasted Spain’s Aliona Bolsova in two hours and 13 minutes, 6-0, 2-6, 7-6(5).

Also advancing on Daniel Island were: Kayla Day (def. Haley Giavara, 6-0, 6-2), Elvina Kalieva (def. Madison Brengle, 6-2, 6-0), Viktoriya Tomova (def. Usue Maitane Arconada, 6-2, 6-3), Darja Vidmanova (def. Katarina Jokic, 6-2, 7-5) and Yue Yuan (def. Kajsa Rinaldo Persson, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3).

Eva Vedder