"On the mend": Danielle Collins set to curtail 2025 season sooner than expected

America’s Danielle Collins has announced that she will take no further part in tennis activities in 2025 after the upcoming US Open. The fourth and final Grand Slam of the year will begin on August 24 in New York.

Collins, in a post on her Instagram account, revealed the news that she is travelling to New York to feature in what would be her last event of 2025. “On the mend. New York soon for my last event of the year,” she wrote. It will be interesting to see when Collins will return in the 2026 season, especially having a hard time this year.

Collins, who initially announced to retirement back at the end of the 2024 season, decided to continue playing after achieving some incredible results. She lifted the Miami Open in March last year after beating former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the final in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 6-3. A week later, Collins lifted the Charleston Open after beating Daria Kasatkina in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-1.

While announcing her decision to take retirement back in October, Collins wrote a post on her Instagram account, explaining what she expects from the upcoming season. “While I was very excited and eager to wrap up my tennis career on a high note this year and jump headfirst into my next chapter of life, things have not gone as planned,” wrote Collins. “I will be back on tour in 2025. While there are no guarantees in life, I hope to build on my 2024 momentum and keep playing until there is more certainty around my personal fertility journey. The only guarantee for now will be some more epic matches.”

Those performances pushed Collins as high as eighth in the WTA rankings. However, since then, not much has gone right for Collins, mainly because of fitness concerns. This year, Collins has only managed to win 15 out of 27 matches. Her best appearance came at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, where she was eventually knocked out after losing in the semifinal to Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-2.

Collins’ most recent appearance was at the Cincinnati Open, where she was knocked out after losing in the first round to fellow American Taylor Townsend in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 7-6. It was the third occasion in the last five events where Collins was knocked out of an event after losing in the first match. At the Libema Open in June, Collins lost to Greet Minnen in the first round with a score of 6-4, 1-6, 2-6. In July, Collins’ journey at the DC Open was cut short as well, and she lost to Magda Linette in the first round with a score of 7-5, 6-4.

These performances have taken a toll on Collins' position in the WTA rankings, where she has now dropped to as low as 57. Collins received some criticism on social media about her performances. The 31-year-old was having none of it as she lashed back at the ‘keyboard warriors’, who, according to her, cannot understand or ‘relate’ to what kind of pain she has gone through in the recent past because of a ‘herniated disc’ issue.

“Anyone who has a herniated disc knows my pain. It’s no surprise the keyboard warriors can't understand or relate, as they've been too busy sitting on their asses judging people who show up and try to give it their best even on days that suck,” she wrote.“Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my injury and thank you to Taylor Townsend for being the best of the best.”