Danielle
Collins was the guest on the latest episode of
Jimmy Connors' podcast,
"Advantage with Connors," which he co-hosts with his son Brett. The
world No. 11 is preparing for her
US Open debut next Tuesday against fellow
American Caroline Dolehide (No. 48).
In the
interview with the Grand Slam champion, 'Danimal' was asked about the strong
personality she displays on the court: “I am just really all about trying to be
my authentic self. No matter how that comes off, there are gonna be times I’m
really happy, bubbly, and high, and then there are times where I’m gonna be in
a bad mood,” she explained.
The
American No. 3 was recently involved in a controversy during her match against
Iga Swiatek at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The first tense moment occurred when
Collins hit a powerful backhand at Swiatek's body, striking her in the stomach.
Later in the match, Swiatek took a toilet break, which angered Collins due to
the time the Polish player took to return to the court.
Swiatek
eventually won the match after Collins retired in the third set, with the world
No. 1 leading 6-1, 2-6, 4-1. The American, visibly upset, made some comments
that took Swiatek by surprise. Collins later explained in the press conference:
“There’s a lot that happens off-camera, and there are a lot of people with a
ton of charisma who come out and act one way on camera and another way in the
locker room,” said Collins after the match. “I just haven’t had the best
experience, and I don’t really feel like anybody needs to be insincere. They
can be the way they are. I can accept that, but I don’t need the fakeness,” she
added.
The 2024
Miami Open champion explained during the podcast that she simply tries to stay
true to herself during matches and doesn’t care much about what others think: “I
like to make my matches like a performance, and if I were, kind of, more
robotic, keeping it to myself, I wouldn’t be true to myself,” the former world
No. 8 said. “I would be trying to be something that I’m not, and I don’t think
that would be fair to me or the people who are watching.”
“I’m very
focused on what I’m doing, and I don’t care what other people think. I don’t
care if it comes off as cocky and arrogant to some fan who hasn’t played
tennis, who hasn’t walked in my shoes, who hasn’t gone through the life
experiences that I have,” she added.
Danielle Collins won her first WTA 1000 title at 2024 Miami Open
“(Since I
was little) I was taught to put it all out there. If I was upset, I could be
upset,” she said. “As long as I’m doing my job, as long as I’m not hurting
other people, and as long as I’m trying my best, that’s all that matters, and I
think that has really helped me a lot as an adult, being this way.”
The
American also spoke about the importance of her relationship with her boyfriend
Bryan in maintaining her competitive spirit in the later stages of her career: “My
boyfriend has been so supportive. He’s from Boston, and he’s a pretty gritty
person. He has encouraged me to be myself constantly and to put my heart out
there, and I feel like having that encouragement has been huge,” Collins said.
Bryan is a
former athlete who played football at Columbia University in New York. He
graduated in engineering and is currently the vice president of the
biotechnology company Revvity. “We have been going out for a while now. We met
at a coffee shop in London, so that was pretty exciting. I didn’t think I would
meet someone at a coffee shop. Who would have thought? Just after Wimbledon,”
the former Australian Open runner-up added.
“He didn’t
know anything about tennis, and he didn’t know I was a tennis player, which was
really nice. He was actually a bigger fan of golf, so he said, ‘Well, I really
like golf. I don’t really know much about tennis.’ And I was like, ‘Yes! That’s
so exciting.’”