Category: Danielle Collins

Collins ‘so grateful’ for Williams sisters’ support after winning Charleston title

April 8, 2024

Danielle Collins says she can resonate with the Williams sisters after winning the Charleston Open on Sunday.

Collins beat Paula Badosa, Ons Jabeur, Sloane Stephens, Elise Mertens and Maria Sakkari en route to making the final in South Carolina.

The 30-year-old took on Daria Kasatkina in the final and defeated the Russian 6-2 6-1 in one hour and 17 minutes with a 95.2 per cent win percentage on her first serve.

Serena Williams congratulated Collins on social media, saying “so happy, love this and you” in a comment on a post of Collins lifting the trophy on Instagram. Collins replied: “I love you more!!!”.

Collins says Serena is her “idol” and that her path into tennis with sister Venus has always inspired her.

“Serena was my idol,” she told Tennis Channel.

“I think the Williams sisters taught all of us it doesn’t matter where you come from, doesn’t matter your background, what you look like, how much money your parents have.

“If you set your mind to something and you work your tail off, anything’s possible.

“I think I resonated with their story a little bit too. My dad was my coach and we were at the public parks, and my parents were driving me all around, and working double, triple shifts just so they could support my dream.

“To have their support and for them to be so vocal, I feel so grateful.”

The 2022 Australian Open runner-up Collins announced in January she would be quitting the sport in 2024 and that she hoped to start a family.

Before Collins, the last player to win Miami and Charleston in the same year was Serena Williams in 2013.

“I had a lot of matches in Miami, and I had a lot of matches here,” said Collins.

“I had, at one point in this tournament, two matches in one day, which is not easy to pull off. I don’t know if I’ve done that before as a professional. I feel like the last time I did that was like in 12-and-unders.

“So to be able to physically battle and push myself to a new limit gives me a lot of confidence. I’ve been so happy to be, obviously, playing at the level that I’ve been playing, but to be able to back it up two weeks in a row has just been fantastic.”

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Collins stuns Rybakina in front of raucous home crowd to win Miami and land first WTA 1000 title

March 30, 2024

Danielle Collins topped off a fairytale run at the Miami Open with a 7-5 6-3 victory against Elena Rybakina to clinch the title.

The 30-year-old, who is set to retire at the end of the season, clinched her first WTA 1000 crown in front of a raucous home crowd at the Hard Rock Stadium.

Collins had been in the form of her life at the Miami Open, not dropping a set since coming back from one down in her opening match.

But she was still considered the underdog against world No. 4 Rybakina, and had only beaten the former Wimbledon champion just once in their four previous encounters.

The two players kept pace with each other in the first set, with Collins calling for more energy from the crowd and box as she battled for an advantage.

The home favourite saved four break points in a fiercely contested seventh game, taking a 4-3 lead.

She then fended off another break opportunity for Rybakina at 5-5, winning three straight points to take a 6-5 lead, and wrapping up the set with her third set point after an hour of play.

Rybakina decided to take an off-court break before the second set got underway, but it was Collins that appeared to be the fresher of the pair, taking a two-game lead.

Her opponent managed to bring the scores level, and the pair again embarked on an epic battle in the seventh game of the set. Collins saved two break points to put herself within two games of winning the tournament at 4-3.

She became aggressive with her return in the next game, earning the opportunity to serve for the title.

Collins had to save two break points during the final game, eventually clinching the victory on her fourth championship point.

The result meant Collins, who is now the lowest-ranked woman to win the Miami Open as the world No. 53, won 14 sets in a row at the tournament. She now will move up to world No. 22.

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Collins reaches first WTA 1000 final with comfortable Alexandrova victory

March 29, 2024

Danielle Collins booked a place in her first WTA 1000 final with a comfortable 6-3 6-2 victory against Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Miami Open.

The 30-year-old announced in January that this would be her final year on the WTA Tour, but she is currently experiencing her best run of form since reaching the Australian Open final in 2022.

Collins, playing in front of a home crowd at the Miami Open, has not dropped a set since coming back from one down in her opening match. No player has won more than three games against her in any set.

Alexandrova was subject to the same treatment despite previous victories against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula, losing in 75 minutes.

Collins drew 19 errors from her opponent as she broke serve twice to win the opening set.

She then started the second set with another break, before powering to victory with 21 winners.

“This feels like a really big accomplishment,” Collins said. “I think all of us want to make finals of 1000-level tournaments. These are our biggest tournaments of the year, aside from the Grand Slams.

“This is just so special. I can’t stress it enough about being in my home state and having my dog here, friends, family. It’s really special. I’ve had a couple of good years here, but this is definitely the most memorable.

“I followed all of [Alexandrova’s] matches this tournament, and it was so fun watching her. We have a similar game style, so it’s tricky when it’s like that.

“Because of that, I had to concentrate harder, had to react faster, and it really forced me to play at my highest level.”

Collins is seeking her third WTA title after victories at the Palermo Open and Silicon Valley Classic in 2021, but in her way stands world No. 4 Elena Rybakina, who took three sets to defeat Victoria Azarenka 6-4 0-6 7-6(2) in her semi-final.

Collins has beaten Rybakina just once in their four encounters, triumphing in San Jose in 2021.

“We’ve had a lot of tough battles, and that’s what we play for,” Collins said. “We want to have these matches. I think I actually did get a win on her in San Jose a while ago.

“Fingers crossed, I’ll have to do my homework. She’s been playing fantastic tennis, and another big hitter. So, I have to be ready.”

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Collins reveals ‘pretty resilient’ mentality after beating Garcia to reach Miami semis

March 27, 2024

Former Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins opened up on the mental battles that tennis players face after beating Caroline Garcia in straight sets to reach the Miami Open semi-final.

The American recorded a comfortable 6-3 6-2 victory without dropping serve.

It is the second time she has reached the last four of the event, having also got there in 2018.

The 30-year-old, who has announced she will retire from tennis at the end of the season, will now face Ekaterina Alexandrova or Jessica Pegula for a place in the final.

“She hit some really strong shots, and the games were really close,” Collins said in her on court interview afterwards.

“I don’t think that the set scores are necessarily a reflection of how close the match really is. It’s been like that every time we play.

“One of the things that makes me pretty resilient mentally is having a lot of detachment and I’ve worked a lot on that.

“You have to in this sport. It’s such a roller coaster each week. You’re losing practically every week. You have weeks that you win, but usually you’re losing. It’s like that for most of the players, even a lot of the top players.

“That’s been something I’ve worked on my whole career, and I feel like I’ve got pretty good at stomaching those highs and lows. It’s just about having fun out here, enjoying it, taking it all in and not being so caught up in the day to day, as much as possible.”

Collins has slipped to No. 63 in the world rankings after an injury-hit couple of years, but put in a near faultless display against the 23rd seed.

The first set was a tight encounter, with neither player able to force a single break point across the first six games.

However, Collins finally broke at the perfect time when Garcia failed to hold at 4-3, and her American opponent duly served it out in her next game.

The Frenchwoman required a medical timeout in the second set, when she received rigorous treatment to her right shoulder area.

She had already been broken by this point though, dropping her second service game as Collins raced into a 3-1 lead.

And although Garcia recovered sufficiently to continue, her opponent forced further break points in the seventh game, and she duly converted at the fourth attempt after cracking a backhand down the line.

That opened up a 5-2 advantage, and there was to be no comeback from there as the American held to love, whipping a cross-court forehand so seal victory with her 22nd winner of the match.

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