Who is Danielle Collins? US tennis star’s retirement U-turn and feud with world No. 1 revealed after Australian Open controversy
Danielle Collins drew the scorn of the Australian Open crowd on Thursday as she blew kisses and bragged about her “fat salary” after enduring boos from the crowd on her way to beating Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava.
But those who have followed Collins’ career will know that the 31-year-old is not afraid to be candid.
The world number 11, known to her devoted fans as the ‘Danimal’, has clashed with the likes of Iga Swiatek and Maria Sakkari.
And after perhaps the best season of Collins’ career in 2024 – which she initially said would be her last – St. Petersburg, Florida came into Melbourne with big expectations.
So what else is there to know about Collins?
Danielle Collins blew kisses to the crowd at the Australian Open after winning on Thursday
The American star boasted that he had claimed a ‘fat reward’ by reaching the third round
Retirement U-turn
While Aussie Open fans loudly booed Collins after she held her hand to her ear following her second-round victory, this was nothing like a tournament she would have been part of a year ago.
In January 2024, Collins announced that the upcoming season would be her last on the WTA tour, citing her desire to have children.
Collins is in a relationship with biotech executive Bryan Kipp.
Following that announcement, Collins produced arguably her best season as a professional, at one point winning fifteen straight matches and winning her first WTA 1000 title at her hometown Miami Open.
She also claimed the title in Charleston and reached the fourth round of Wimbledon – the best result of her career – and qualified for the US Olympic team in Paris.
Collins claimed the first 1000-level title of her career when she won the Miami Open in March
She also achieved the best finish of her career at Wimbledon when she reached the fourth round
Naturally, that form raised questions about whether Collins was actually on the verge of leaving the sport, and she said in October that she would return for the 2025 season.
In one Instagram postCollins said starting a family would take “longer than I thought” because she was struggling with fertility problems and endometriosis, which affects the uterus.
“Dealing with endometriosis and fertility is a huge challenge for many women and something I am actively working on, but I have complete confidence in the team I work with,” she wrote. “It’s just going to take longer than I thought.”
‘So the DANIMAL story has not yet reached a conclusion. I’ll be going on tour again in 2025.’
Feuds with Iga Swiatek and Maria Sakkari
Collins has been involved in a rather one-sided feud with former world number 1 Iga Swiatek since the Paris Olympics, where the pair faced each other in the quarter-finals.
Collins withdrew from the match in the third set due to an abdominal injury, and criticized Swiatek for being “disingenuous” about her injury when they spoke on the court after the match, she said.
‘A lot happens on camera. And there are a lot of people with a lot of charisma… (who) are in front of the camera one way and in the locker room another way,” Collins told reporters afterward via AP.
“I don’t need the fakeness.”
Collins said the injury stemmed from cramps and dehydration and that she “nearly collapsed” after leaving the court following the previous match.
Swiatek, meanwhile, expressed his bewilderment to the Polish press as to why Collins had a problem with her.
Collins shared some tense words with Swiatek after their match at the Paris Olympics
She later appeared unimpressed as she shook Swiatek’s hand at the United Cup
“I never did anything unkind toward her,” she said. ‘I don’t know what she meant. I wanted to congratulate her on a successful career as it is her last year on tour. “We never even had any interaction that would have caused that.”
Collins’ distaste for Swiatek continued in the United Cup earlier this month as she looked unimpressed when the pair shook hands in the queue for the US-Poland final.
The American even changed her Instagram profile photo to a screenshot of the moment.
Collins also clashed with former world No. 3 Sakkari at the 2023 Canadian Open when the latter knocked a ball off the ground and into the stands in frustration.
The American then asked the referee if she had seen what happened, while Sakkari replied that she had not hit anyone.
“Shut up,” Collins said back.
Chance meeting with friend at Wimbledon
Although Collins is known by some as one of the best tennis players in the world, her current boyfriend had no idea who she was when they first met.
Collins was in London after playing Wimbledon when she and Kipp met in a coffee shop.
Collins was seen with her boyfriend Bryan Kipp at Wimbledon last year. The couple met in London.
Kipp is also a former athlete, but Collins referred to himself as the “jock” in their relationship
“He didn’t know anything about tennis, and he didn’t know I was a tennis player, which was really nice,” she later told the Tennis Channel.
“He was actually a bigger fan of golf and so he said, ‘Well, I really like golf.’ I don’t really know much about tennis.’ And I thought, ‘Yes! That’s so exciting.’
Kipp also has a sports background, as he played football in college at Columbia University, but Collins claimed she was the “jock” in their relationship.
“He got me on the golf course and I’m so competitive,” she added. “I hate losing to this guy. I love him to death but hate losing to him,” Danielle Collins added.
Kipp is regularly in Collins’ support section, including during her victory at the Charleston Open, and was also seen cheering her on at Wimbledon last summer.