Danielle Collins has hit back at criticism of her goading of the Australian Open crowd, saying: “I don’t care what some guy living in his basement is writing on the internet.”
Collins, the American world No. 11, has come under fire over the last two days after her provocative reaction to beating home favourite Destanee Aiava on Thursday. A raucous crowd had been vocal in their support for Aiava, and after winning in three sets Collins cupped her hand to her ear, blew kisses towards supporters and thanked them in her on-court interview for providing her with a “big fat pay check.”
Later in her post-match news conference, she added: “One of the greatest things about being a professional athlete is the people that don’t like you and the people that hate you, they actually pay your bills. It’s kind of a cool concept.
“Every person that’s bought a ticket to come out here and heckle me, it’s all going towards the Danielle Collins Fund. Bring it on. I love it.”
The 31-year-old was defeated 6-4, 6-4 in the third round on Saturday by compatriot Madison Keys and was booed throughout by the Australian fans. Collins, who picked up a knee injury towards the end of the match, made a peace gesture to the stands as she left court but subsequently made another reference to the home fans ultimately providing her with more earning potential.
“It’s wonderful that I can capitalize on these opportunities,” she said in a post-match news conference on Saturday. “I think that six different sponsorship opportunities came up this tournament alone. That’s a great signal for me.
“Obviously, like I said, every fan contributes to that. It’s been a real blessing.”
She added that she is unbothered by the invective coming her way on the court and off it, including Tony Jones, a veteran Australian sports presenter, calling her “a brat” on Friday. “I don’t have a big ego when it comes to this,” Collins said, later referencing Jones as “this old guy”. “Honestly, I don’t care what’s written about me. I don’t care what some guy living in his basement is writing on the internet.”
Her response to Thursday’s heckling was praised the next evening by the 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who said he “loved” Collins taking on the home crowd. He added that he was now a “big fan” of the American, who said that the rest of the locker room has been similarly supportive. Djokovic went on to say that tennis needs to become less staid as a sport and more adventurous, even advocating for dancers to provide mid-match entertainment on court.
Collins echoed the need for tennis to modernise. “I feel like people take life way too seriously sometimes,” she said. “Somebody was telling me that the average age of people watching and the fans of tennis is, like, 65 (as of last summer the median age of a viewer of the Tennis Channel in the United States was 62, according to Nielsen, the data collector). We need to bring some entertainment to the game. We can try to make jokes and laugh.”
Of the booing she faced on Saturday, Collins said: “I expected that, obviously. That’s fine. Like I said, I really do enjoy playing in these types of environments. It’s what you work so hard for your entire life as a kid. I embraced it. Yeah, I thought overall it was good. It got me fired up at times.”
Collins wasn’t sure of the severity of the knee issue she picked up and referenced a foot issue she’s also managing, but said she would take the holiday that she had referenced after beating Aiava. “Me and my group of girlfriends, we love a five-star vacation so I can guarantee that check is going to go towards our next five-star trip – hopefully to the Bahamas,” Collins said in her on-court interview after beating Aiava.
“We like boats, we like big boats, we like yachts, so we’ll post about it and let you guys know how it goes.”
She joked that other players have been asking her if they can join the trip.
Collins had planned to retire at the end of last year, but complications caused in part by her endometriosis means she carried on. She’s signed up for the events in Doha, Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami and Charleston over the next couple of months, fitness and health allowing.
Keys plays No. 6 seed Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open fourth round on Sunday.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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