The best for last: supposed to put away her rackets at the end of the year, the American leader at the BJK Cup Danielle Collins has offered herself the prestigious Miami tournament in 2024 and a return to the top 10 at 30, from what to postpone his retirement indefinitely.
January 18, 2024, 2nd round of the Australian Open. After a three-set fight lost against Iga Swiatek, Collinsformer 7th in the world who has fallen to an anonymous 62nd place, announces that she will soon put away her rackets for good.
“This is going to be my last professional season“, the Floridian then assures the journalists, without knowing”exactly when“the adventure will end.
Since his surprise accession to the final of the Australian Open in January 2022 and his entry into the top 10 in April of the same year, Collins is lacking results. Eager to start a family and tired of the incessant ballet of traveling on the circuit, her decision seems irrevocable.
An exceptional year 2024 will, however, make her change her mind.
Quarter-finalist at the WTA 1000 (the most important tournaments after the 4 Grand Slams) in Doha in February, Collins A month later, she won her first WTA 1000 title in Miami, on her home soil.
53rd at the time, she is the lowest ranked player in the history of the tournament to lift the trophy.
“I feel like a lot of people would like to see me continue playing“, she then says. “But my health problems also make life difficult off the court“, argues the American, who suffers from endometriosis and was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (an inflammatory joint disease) in 2019.
“Back in 2025”
A week after triumphing on hard court in Miami, Collins continues at the WTA 500 in Charleston (South Carolina), contested on clay.
His victim in the final, the Russian Daria Kasatkinadoes not hesitate to tease her: “I was going to say that I was going to miss you on the circuit but after this match, I'm not so sure anymore“, she jokes.
At the end of May, Collins reached a new final at the WTA 500 in Strasbourg, which allowed her to return to the top 10.
Beaten in the 2nd round of Roland-Garros, the one who gets the nickname For days returns to Paris in July for the Olympic tournament. Heat stroke and an abdominal injury forced her to retire in the quarter-finals against Iga Swiatek.
A new defeat against the world number 1 which marks a real halt, since Collins On his return to the courts, he followed up with three eliminations as soon as he entered the fray.
Her last appearance in an official tournament dates back to the WTA 500 in Guadalajara in early September, but on October 18, she announced on Instagram that the Mexican tournament will not be her last.
“I was really looking forward to ending my Tennis career on a good note this year (…) but things didn't go as planned“, she wrote on the social network.
“Having to deal with endometriosis and fertility is a huge challenge for many women, which I am going through (…) It's just going to take longer than I thought“, continues the player, who adds to consult “many specialists” pour “realize your ultimate dream: starting a family“.
“The story of Danimal has not yet reached its end, I will be back on the circuit in 2025“, concludes Collinsbefore indicating that she will continue professional tennis “until there is more certainty” around his family project.
Asked on Tuesday in Malaga about the precise moment when she made this decision, the 11th in the world preferred to focus on the issues of the BJK Cup.
The turnaround of Danielle Collins in any case delighted the American captain Lindsay Davenportdeprived in Malaga of its stars Coco Gauff (3rd) and Jessica Pegula (7e).
“When Danielle said she would be available to come to Spain, the whole team was delighted“, she assured at a press conference.
