Danielle Collins carved out a pretty solid career for herself with a Grand Slam final on her resume; however, it wasn't always an easy journey.
The story of Collins is one we've seen many times, at least in the beginning. It was a humble beginning for the American, who doesn't come from a privileged background. We've seen many stories of tennis being a privileged people sport, and while it is expensive, it's not always that.
There are many examples of that not being that way; however, the road for these players is pretty tough. Novak Djokovic talked about it often, and the story of Collins is pretty similar.
She grew up in a two-parent home but living paycheck to paycheck. It's why she became interested in financial literacy, something that grew into a passion that she supports as she revealed in a recent talk to the WTA.
Growing up with two parents that were so hard working and living paycheck to paycheck, I think definitely helped spark an interest in financial literacy and accounting properly. At 18 years old, I had 0$ in my name, I didn’t come from financial opportunity, and knowing that I really felt like the best way to set myself up for success was going to college.
Collins is far better off today with a successful tennis career, but it would never have happened without that college experience. That was the crucial decision that changed everything in her life because it was such a valuable experience in many spheres of her life.
It set me up for so much success on and off the court, allowed me to evolve and grow so much more as a person, but also as an athlete. It gave me the time to physically develop, mentally develop, which was really important, because quite frankly, if I had turned pro at the young age of 16, 17 years old, I was not in a place from a maturity standpoint to be able to have the career that I would have wanted to have.
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