An amazing Croatian woman!

The young Croatian, nicknamed Tonka, is experiencing a meteoric rise in 2026, reaching her best career ranking at No. 51. Coached by Juraj Dusparić, she is establishing herself as the new boss of Croatian tennis. Before dedicating herself exclusively to tennis, she was a double national karate champion at the age of 12, which explains her flexibility and exceptional defensive reflexes. She is full of confidence after a semifinal in Hobart and a quarterfinal in Dubai last month.

The Czech player is currently ranked 13th in the world. Under the guidance of her coach Emil Miške, she is making a thunderous start to the 2026 season, with a title won in Doha against the young Victoria Mboko. Nicknamed The Mooch by those close to her and passionate about music, she is, for me, the very best there is in terms of tennis IQ right now! A precise serve, very few double faults (0.13 per game in 2026) and an immense ability to adapt to her opponent’s game!

Interesting match-up because Tonka went 2–0 against Zheng, who was surprised by the new conditions and the wind! The Croatian is a complete baseliner, with reinforced baseline defense and an interesting topspin game! Her stats show steady progress this year.

On the other hand, the Olomouc native’s ability to break up the rhythm with her slices and net approaches has often caused problems for rhythm-based players like Antonia Ružić. Extreme, intelligent variation. Karo was down 5–2 in the first set in their last match, but ended up winning the set 5–7 and then taking the second set like a boss! Both players have now adjusted to the conditions in IW and will no longer be bothered by them. Almost no wind expected.

On paper, the stats show an overwhelming edge for the Czech, no surprise there, but watch out for the Croatian, who often converts her breaks once she’s created a gap in the game!