Danielle Collins admits she made a mistake during a heated moment with Iga Swiatek at the Olympics but also feels such incidents are made to be a bigger issue when they involve two women.
Fans will get to watch Collins' powerful and ultra-aggressive brand of tennis again during the 2025 season after she reversed her decision to retire at the end of 2024, which delighted her fans.
However, that announcement was bittersweet for Collins. She planned to stop playing tennis to start a family, but her ongoing battle with endometriosis, a condition that makes becoming pregnant more challenging, halted that plan.
Collins ended her season with a loss to Rebecca Sramkova during Team USA's unexpected loss to Slovakia on Thursday at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. The 30-year-old had not played for two months before that match due to an illness.
It was an underwhelming end to what has been a memorable season for Collins. During an incredible spell of form in March and April, she played some of the best tennis seen on the WTA Tour in recent years.
Collins won her first WTA 1000 title at the Miami Open, beating Elena Rybakina in the final. The moment was even more special because the tournament occurred in her home state of Florida.
However, the 2022 Australian Open runner-up was not done there. She secured the title at the Charleston Open the following week without dropping a set. That meant Collins won 13 consecutive matches in Miami and Charleston.
The 30-year-old performed solidly in the following few months, but an injury sustained in the Olympics quarterfinal against Swiatek derailed her season. That issue and a subsequent illness meant she did not win another match in 2024.
Collins retired from the Olympic quarterfinal against Swiatek. When the Pole asked about Collins' injury at the net, the Miami Open winner hit out at her, accusing Swiatek of being fake and insincere.
In an interview with the Athletic, Collins said the incident was like two people having friction in any workplace but acknowledged she could have handled things differently.
"I think what happened on the court is very much just like sometimes people have friction at work.For most people, it’s not on the news. I’m trying to be the best person that I can be, but that’s not to say that I don’t fall short of that."
"I could have taken a different approach and done some things differently. But we had a moment there on court. She’s not someone that I really get to see a lot at the tennis and she’s very guarded with her group."
Collins then stated that any tension between female players is portrayed as a big issue. By contrast, similar incidents between two men are more expected.
"We all make mistakes and fall short. And I’m just trying to put that behind me. I think when guys kind of get into a little tiff or a little bit of friction, I think that it’s kind of expected. With women, it becomes this way bigger issue than it really needs to be. There’s a lot of extrapolation.”
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