'One of the greatest experiences': Shriver departs Vekic's team
International Tennis Hall of Famer Pam Shriver has announced the end of her coaching relationship with World No. 22 Donna Vekic -- hailing the partnership as "one of the greatest experiences in 50-plus years in tennis."
Shriver, 62, says she's leaving Vekic -- for whom she has served as a coaching consultant since 2022 -- as a result of "a challenging year" off the court.
A resident of the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, Shriver was forced to evacuate her home during the series catastrophic wildfires that destroyed over 57,000 acres of land in California at the start of this year -- and even had many of her Grand Slam trophies stolen as she fled. (They were later returned.)
"it’s been a challenging year, therefore I need to lean even more into my community & my family’s wellbeing," Shriver wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.
One of the greatest experiences I have had in my 50+ years in tennis has been helping coach @DonnaVekic since October 2022. Here in LA, it’s been a challenging year, therefore I need to lean even more into my community & my family’s wellbeing. I am stepping down from Team DV. 🙏
— Pam Shriver (@PHShriver) June 18, 2025
In addition to serving as a commentator for networks including ESPN and Tennis Channel, the 22-time Grand Slam doubles champion joined Vekic at the San Diego Open in the fall of 2022, and served as an advisor to Vekic first with coach Nikola Horvat, and then alongside Sascha Baijin, whom Vekic hired as coach before the start of this year.
The Croat saw several milestone results with Shriver on her team.
Last year, Vekic had her career-best Grand Slam result with a run to the semifinals at Wimbledon, where she lost the longest semifinal in tournament history to Jasmine Paolini. Weeks later, she won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics -- upsetting Coco Gauff en route to the final before losing to Zheng Qinwen -- in what was a first for a Croatian woman.
