The former World No.7 says her time as a professional is nearly up.
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday January 18, 2024
Daniel Collins has spent a career developing a reputation as one of the feistiest competitors in the women’s game. The American, who laid it all on the line in a difficult three-set loss to Iga Swiatek on Thursday at the Australian Open, says she is nearly done fighting.
The 30-year-old former World No.7 broke the news to reporters in Melbourne, saying: “This is going to be my last season, actually, competing. I don’t really know exactly when, but this will be my last season and I’m really looking forward to that.”
When asked to elaborate by a journalist, Collins continued.
“I feel like I’ve had a pretty good career,” she said. “There has certainly been ups and downs to it, and I think the travel and some of the things away from the court with scheduling and all of that, this is a really tough sport.
“I have other things that I’d kind of like to accomplish in my life outside of tennis, and would like to be able to kind of, you know, be able to have the time to be able to do that. Obviously having kids is a big priority for me, so…”
The two-time NCAA champion at the University of Virginia is also a former Grand Slam finalist. She played for the title at the Australian Open in 2022, falling to Ashleigh Barty in the final. She finished inside the WTA’s Top-25 year-end ranking for five consecutive years, from 2019 to 2023, even while struggling with issues.
Collins has rheumatoid arthritis and also battled endometriosis.
After her loss to Swiatek, one in which she squandered a 4-1 double-break lead in the third set, she said: “I’m kind of at the end of my career and they don’t sting quite as much, to be honest. I feel like I have kind of gotten to the point where obviously they matter and my career means a lot to me, but at the end of the day, you either win or you lose, and that’s all there is to it.”
