Andy Roddick reflects on Danielle Collins’ surprising decision to postpone retirement

Andy Roddick gave his opinion on Danielle Collins’ decision to backtrack on her retirement. The former Australian Open runner-up announced at the beginning of the year that she would retire towards the end of the season after struggling with injuries in recent years.

The 30-year-old then found a state of inspiration, winning the Miami Open in just her third tournament of the year, defeating Elena Rybakina in the final. A week later, she won the WTA 500 Charleston Open, totaling 15 consecutive victories that helped her return to the top 10 a few weeks later. Danielle Collins then reached the semifinals at the Rome Open and made the final in Strasbourg.

Although she has not maintained her level in recent months, with three consecutive first-round losses since Wimbledon, the large number of points from the first half of the season allows her to remain in world No. 10 with just a couple of weeks of competition left. In the best season of her career, Collins has an impressive 39-15 record.

“I don't know how to respond to this because I think there are a lot of factors that have nothing to do with tennis,” commented Andy Roddick after learning that Collins will return in 2025. “Is it time to start a family? Is it not? I can't comment on any of that, so I'm going to put myself in a very small box and say, purely from a tennis fan perspective, I'm happy we're going to get to see more of her,” he added.

“I'm happy—this was arguably the best year of her career, certainly for six weeks, maybe two months of the season. It was hard to argue against her being the best player on tour for that stretch, from Miami through Charleston, even into Rome where she made the semis without breaking a ton of sweat. I mean, she just looked like she had it for a while.”

“Anyway, listen, she didn’t have to explain the reasons in her post, but she did,” the 2003 US Open champion said. “I’m happy that we’re going to get to see her for another year, and hopefully, momentum can build. Also, I hope that everything else that’s way more than tennis works out the way that she eventually wants it to."