previous year's finalist, was defeated in the second round by Ekaterina Alexandrova. Seeded 17th at the Qatar Open, she lost in the first round to Iga Świątek. 2021: Australian Open fourth round and Olympics, out of top 100 Vekić started her 2021 season at the first edition of the Abu Dhabi Women's Open. Seeded 16th, she lost in the first round to Bernarda Pera. Seeded ninth at the first edition of the Yarra Valley Classic, she was defeated in the second round by Tsvetana Pironkova. Seeded 28th at the Australian Open, she achieved her best ever result by reaching the fourth round; she ended up being eliminated from the tournament by 22nd seed and eventual finalist, Jennifer Brady. With this run, she has reached the fourth round or better, completing the sweep of second-week appearances, at each of the four Grand Slam events. After the Australian Open, she underwent surgery on her right knee and said that she would be out of action for a while. Vekić returned in time for the French Open but was beaten in the first round by ninth seed Karolína Plíšková. Seeded third at the Nottingham Open, her first grass-court tournament of the season, Vekić lost in the third round to 15th seed Nina Stojanović. Seeded third in Birmingham, she reached quarterfinals and was defeated by Heather Watson. At Wimbledon, she was eliminated in the second round by eighth seed and eventual finalist, Karolína Plíšková. Representing Croatia at the Summer Olympics, Vekić upset third seed Aryna Sabalenka in the second round. She was beaten in the third round by 15th seed and eventual semifinalist, Elena Rybakina. Unable to defend her points from the 2019 US Open, Vekić fell out of the top 100 on 20 September 2021 to world No. 101, her lowest ranking in five years since year-end 2016. However, after winning the Courmayeur Open in October, she returned to the top 70. 2022: Hiatus due to surgery, back to top 50, second WTA 500 final Ranked No. 101, she qualified for Rolland Garros as the sixth qualifier seed. It was the first time Vekić has had to contest qualifying for a major since the 2016 US Open due to injury and missing play between Australian Open and Roland Garros in 2021, leading to a dip in the rankings. After making the main draw at the French Open and a first-round win over Mirjam