ATX Open 2024: Danielle Collins
The ups and downs of life on the tour
Danielle Collins is well known on the WTA tour for several things. She’s a college player that successfully turned pro, something that’s becoming more common after decades of most great talents eschewing the college game. She earned two national titles while at the University of Virginia before beginning her successful pro career.
She also brings a fire, an intensity to the court that has sometimes been described as anger, but really exposes something else. Collins is a perfectionist, and asks a lot of herself every time she steps on the court. The game has had many such characters, so she’s in good company.
At the Australian Open this past January, Collins announced this year would be her last on tour. It was apropos that she chose that location for the announcement as it was the site of her greatest professional achievement. In 2019, she advanced to the semifinals of “the Happy Slam” behind some great play and the famous intensity.
For the second year in a row, Collins headlined the tournament, alongside former grand-slam champ Sloane Stephens. As the tournament prepared to kick off, she discussed some of what makes her tick.
The City of Austin
The ATX Open isn’t just happen to have Collins; she’s happy to play the tournament.
“I consider this my home tournament, she said. “This is where I feel like a lot of my friends are. I feel like I get the most support in this event, and I just feel like,it's such a fan-friendly event, but also really athlete-friendly.”
Collins is well known for getting out and exploring the different cities she visits. She enjoys the perk of international travel, even with all its hardships. On this trip, she made sure to start off with breakfast tacos and good coffee. That’s a true Austinite move.
“Austin is somewhere that I would definitely consider living in the future,” she said “I've said that before, and I have a lot of friends here, and love the vibe of it, so you might see more to me when I'm done.”
The Lonely Grind
Life on tour isn’t easy. Besides the physically grueling requirement to play often on back to back days, the psychological part can be just as tough. Collins is very thoughtful about this aspect of the pro life, including reaching out for help.
“I think as women a lot of times I think we kind of get shamed in some ways for asking for help or asking for what we need,” she said And I think especially when it's in a high-pressure situation where there's a lot on the line, it can be uncomfortable to sometimes ask for help or ask for the support that you need.”
Her focus on succeeding in her chosen career and doing everything she can to support that has given her a perspective that makes it easier to push through.
“For me as a player, for people who are working with me, they have goals as well, and so at the end of the day we all just want to succeed and want to see everybody do well. That's something that I certainly as of recently, I am not quite as scared to ask for help. I think in the early stages of my career, it's kind of like sometimes if you ask a question, or you don't want to be too this, or you don't want to be too that. And that's as I'm getting older kind of going away, which is really nice. I'm not as concerned.”
Finishing Strong
With retirement looming, Collins is focused on making the most of her time on tour. The pressure is off in many ways, and she’s learning to enjoy this last stage of her professional career.
“For me at this point, there’s not as much pressure at this stage in my career, and I certainly have other goals that I'd like to accomplish before the end of my career, but this period has been really nice getting to kind of transition into that next chapter and start thinking about that. And also having family and friends come out and support in these final events. It's really special.”
She places special emphasis on making sure she’s managing the physical part of the game to the best of her abilities.
“I just really have to listen and pay attention to my body as someone that's had a lot of health problems and injuries over the years, I have to really manage that and be mindful of it. So it's been a long learning curve. You don't figure it out really in your first or second year on tour. I think it takes a little bit of time to figure out what works best and I feel like now I'm finally at the point where I'm learning what's working out, working best, and now I'm at the end of my career.”
Her 2024 ATX Open Results
Collins had a good run a this year’s ATX Open, even if it didn’t end the way she was hoping.
In the opening round, she played two tough sets to beat Australia’s Olivia Gadecki. She followed that up with what might be the match of the entire tournament against Katie Volynets. After losing the first set to the fiesty youngster, Collins fought back to win the second, and then blanked Volynets in the third, capping a mentally tough comeback.
Unfortunately, Collins had her week cut short due to injury. In her quarterfinal bout with China’s Xiyu Wang, she was forced to retire after the first set because of an issue with her lower back. It was unfortunate for her and the crowd, but it didn’t diminish her great week in the Lone Star State.
While this will be her last time participating in the tournament, Collins has left a legacy by participating and representing it for the first two years. She’s surely be back. After all, there are lots more breakfast tacos to try.
Ticket for the 2024 ATX Open Finals on Sunday March 3rd still available.