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Donna Vekic enjoys panda-monium at Zoo Berlin ahead of Bett1Open campaign

Vekic traded grass for bamboo as she bonded with Jiao Qing, who joined Berlin’s Panda Gaden in 2017.

ByDavid Kane

Published Jun 19, 2023

TENNiSTORY: Donna Vekic has been one of the stories of the 2023 season, reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals in January.

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Donna Vekic got her zen on ahead of her Bett1Open debut with a trip to Zoo Berlin, getting up close and personal with the stars of the zoo’s famed Panda Garden.

“Not in the mood for a selfie,” joked Vekic, who shared her trip with fans on Instagram on Sunday.

Giant Pandas have long been a staple of the Zoo Berlin experience, with Jiao Qing and Meng Meng arriving to the Garden in 2017. The couple welcomed twin panda cubs in 2019.

Vekic shared video of Jiao Qing, who weighs over 220 pounds, eating and relaxing as she prepared to play the Bett1Open for the first time.

Berlin returned to the WTA calendar in 2021 after a decade-long hiatus; once home to a major clay-court tournament won by the likes of Stefanie Graf, Martina Hingis, and Justine Henin, the Bett1Open is a 500-level grass-court tournament preparing players for Wimbledon.

The mix of work and play is already paying off for Vekic, who is in the midst of a career resurgence in 2023; the world No. 23 knocked out Varvara Gracheva, 6-3, 6-2, to book a possible second-round clash with No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina.