Danielle Collins' time as a professional tennis player is coming to an end after her recent announcement, and she is already planning life after retirement.
Collins is one of the most successful WTA players who played collegiate tennis in the past before making the transition into becoming a pro. Her big breakthrough came in 2018 when she reached the semifinal of the Miami Open as a qualifier.
That same year, she broke the world's Top 50 for the first time. Collins continued to ascend the WTA rankings, reaching the 2019 Australian Open semifinal and entering into the Top 25. Before that, she had never won a main draw match at a major.
The American's stock rose sharply, maintaining her spot inside the Top 50 for the most part in subsequent years, and she attained her best-ever result at a Grand Slam singles tournament when she reached the final of the 2022 Australian Open, losing to Ashleigh Barty.
That run catalyzed the American's surge into the Top 10 and she managed to stay there for almost four months. Even though she has not been able to live through those thrills again, she is content with what she has achieved in her career.
At this year's Australian Open, Collins delivered the shocking news of her upcoming retirement, which will happen at some point this season. And recently, after her round of 16 victory over Katerina Siniakova in Doha, the 30-year-old divulged her primary goal after hanging up her racket but was unsure of her long-term future after tennis.
"You know, I'm not sure (her life after ten years). I'm not sure if I'll kind of continue working in tennis. You know, I think I definitely want to start a family. That's the main priority. And have other interests outside of the tennis court and kind of need to have the time and the space to be able to focus on, you know, what sparks my interest."
Collins explained that because of the demanding schedule that tennis players have to commit themselves to, it is almost impossible to think about anything outside tennis, which is why she has not been able to think through most of her plans.
"I feel like with the lifestyle we live and this being our full-time job and so much of our day-to-day revolving around preparing and getting ready for the next tournament and going out and competing, you know, we don't have a lot of time to kind of think about that next chapter unless you are thinking about doing something in tennis."
The two-time WTA titlist did not give details of her last professional tournament when quizzed on whether she will play in Italy this year - a country in which she won her first WTA title in 2021. Collins stated that she still has some goals to accomplish.
"Hopefully, yeah. You know, I announced that this would be my last season and didn't announce, like, which tournament would be my last tournament."
"You know, I'm playing well right now and have some things that I'd like to accomplish before my career is over. Right now, I'm just focusing on the matches, and hopefully, I'll be in Italy (smiling)."
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