Danielle Collins has shed light on the reasons why she decided to hang up her racket by the end of the season.
Collins shocked the tennis world when she announced her intention to retire at an unconfirmed date this season, shortly after losing to Iga Swiatek at the 2024 Australian Open.
The American has since enjoyed the best season of her career. In late March, the 30-year-old won her first WTA 1000 title at the Miami Open, beating Elena Rybakina in the final.
The Florida native followed that success by winning in Charleston a week later before forging a 15-match win streak. Collins' winning habit has not stopped even when she exited her home country to kick off her European clay-court adventure.
She was a runner-up in Strasbourg, which was the last WTA tournament before Roland Garros. Despite falling short to clinch her third title of the season, Collins celebrated a return into the world's Top 10.
While the American's decision to retire has surprised many analysts and fans, Collins has revealed that she wanted to start a family, which has been her lifelong goal. In a recent column on BBC, the former Australian Open finalist explained that it would be difficult to keep on playing while pregnant.
"I'm going to be 31 at the end of the year and one of my biggest goals outside of tennis is to have a family. Being able to have a family is challenging as a woman when your career depends on your body. It would be especially difficult to think about playing tennis while pregnant."
Additionally, Collins also stated that she is battling two health ailments that could pose a greater challenge in fulfilling her goal of becoming a mother in the future, more so if she delays her retirement.
"Added to this, I deal with two chronic health conditions: rheumatoid arthritis and endometriosis which can affect fertility and your ability to have children. Some research estimates up to 30-50% of women with endometriosis experience infertility, and time isn't on my side either."
Therefore, the five-time WTA titlist opines that it is imperative that she makes full use of the "smaller window" at her disposal to get pregnant, but she's felt generously happy to experience the life of a professional tennis player.
"I have a smaller window available to get pregnant and to make sure that hopefully happens. I'm also introverted and like to be at home mostly. I've loved my experience of being a professional tennis player and travelling the world."
"Tennis has given me the opportunity to have so many incredible experiences, many of which would not have been possible for me otherwise. But I'm ready for my next chapter."
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