Jessica Pegula and Danielle Collins are not just rivals but enjoy a special friendship while away from the grind of the WTA Tour.
Pegula and Collins broke through into the mainstream at almost the same time. Collins enjoyed a fine cameo while competing in Miami as a qualifier in 2018 (she reached the semifinal). She was ranked outside the Top 100 at the start of the year but finished the season ranked No. 36.
Pegula, meanwhile, was outside the Top 100 at the start of 2019 but memorably won her maiden WTA title in Washington, finishing the season as World No. 55. Recently, both players celebrated their 30th birthday.
While Pegula intends to stay on the tour for a few more years, Collins announced her decision to retire this year without giving details of her last WTA tour appearance.
But as she lets tennis fans play a guessing game, she is already planning her post-retirement life. Last month, during the WTA 250 event in Austin, Collins mentioned that she was yearning to get a diamond as an ideal retirement present.
"Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, that’s all I’m going to say. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, so if anyone wants to get me some diamonds, I’m going to take them, honey."
To her surprise, Pegula gifted her good friend a gold necklace that featured Collins' initials of her first name, D, embellished with diamonds. The former Australian Open finalist took to Instagram to share a glimpse of the gift, which was manufactured by the jewelry brand Gorjana and wrapped in a small box.
"Thank you @jpegula for spoiling me!! I asked for some diamonds last week and @jpegula and @gorjana delivered."
Collins and Pegula are currently in Indian Wells. World No. 56 Collins won her first-round match against Erika Andreeva in straight sets, before losing to Iga Swiatek. Pegula, meanwhile, received a bye and will begin her campaign in the second round against Anna Blinkova.
0 Comments