Danielle Collins explains why she reversed decision to retire: "My career is a really good distractor for everything else"

Danielle Collins explained the reasons behind her decision to reverse her retirement plans. The 30-year-old player announced at the start of the season that she would end her career in 2024, but since then, she has elevated her level, achieving the best season of her career so far.

Collins had a 15-match winning streak, which included her first WTA 1000 title at the Miami Open and the WTA 500 title at the Charleston Open. Her run ended in the round of 16 at the Madrid Open, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka.

Nevertheless, the American maintained strong consistency in the first half of the year, reaching world No. 10, with semifinals at the Rome Open and a runner-up finish at the Strasbourg Open.

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Collins had previously announced her retirement plans, citing her desire to start a family while managing issues with endometriosis and rheumatoid arthritis, conditions that have sidelined her several times throughout her career. About a month ago, the former Australian Open finalist reversed her decision, surprising the tennis world.

However, the second half of the year was challenging for Collins. She was injured at the Olympic Games and missed several tournaments. Upon her return, she suffered an early loss at the US Open and missed the Asian Swing. In a recent statement, Collins mentioned, “I’m dealing with some issues around my endometriosis and other health challenges.”

Collins won her first WTA 1000 title after defeating Elena Rybakina in the final

Collins finished the season at world No. 10 and traveled to the WTA Finals, where she is an alternate in case of injury to any of the players. Upon her arrival in Riyadh, she said, “Yeah, definitely some mixed emotions,” Collins told Sky Sports. “You know, this past couple of weeks, going through all of those appointments and just trying to work through all of the information that you get during the process, it’s been hard at times.”

“But, while I was going through that process, I was also thinking, how lucky am I that I have the option to be able to have a career to fall back on because I couldn’t imagine having gone through those appointments and understanding the challenges that might come along with this experience, and then not having my career,” the former world No. 8 added.

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“So I think right now my career is a really good distractor from everything else that’s going on. Bittersweet, like you said, excited to be able to continue playing but also hoping that the next chapter can come sooner rather than later,” Collins mentioned. “It certainly has been so encouraging hearing all of these positive words from so many people in tennis.”

“And a lot of the girls that I compete against and the girls that have become my friends, they’ve been a huge support system to me over the last couple of months - and when I have had the challenging times previously,” Danielle Collins stated. “In that way, I’m really looking forward to being able to stay out and keep competing on tour. But like I said, it’s just been kind of a whirlwind these last couple of weeks.”