She was experiencing pain even just before the tournament in Miami. Nevertheless, in the end, tennis player Danielle Collins lifted the winner’s trophy above her head. The 30-year-old American is ending her career this year. She suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and other ailments. Still, he keeps getting questions about whether he’s thinking about saying goodbye after all.
The entire second week of the event in Miami was surrounded by the media. As she progressed further and further, there was a lot of interest in her press conferences. Collins wrote another big story in Florida.
As if she hasn’t experienced enough of them in her life. After all, it was here, on the east coast of the United States, that she grew up and began to receive her first lessons from her father at the age of eight.
Her parents didn’t have enough money to pay for her trainers, so they took a different route. “They did everything so that I could get a college scholarship, continue to play tennis and study at one of the best universities in the States,” Collins admitted in an interview with WTA Insider.
In the end, she changed two universities at once, the University of Florida and the University of Virginia. She excelled at tennis and earned a master’s degree on the side.
When she decided to try a professional career as a tennis player, she was already almost 23 years old. “Some tennis players often laughed at me that they were slowly ending their careers at my age, that it’s too late, that I won’t make it far,” she admitted.
But she made it. Within two years, she was in the top 50, the next year in the top 25. Her aggressive style from the baseline paid off against her opponents.
Just before the covid era, however, she suffered her first health problems. She suffered from pain and doctors diagnosed her with rheumatoid arthritis. To make matters worse, two years later she even had to undergo surgery due to gynecological problems.
“I live with a chronic inflammatory disease that affects my ability to get pregnant. It’s a deeply personal thing. Yet I still hear the question of whether I should reconsider retiring from tennis,” Collins shook her head after hearing the question again at the press conference.
And she had to answer him even after the victorious final, when she won the biggest title of her career. “No, thank you, I really won’t reconsider the decision. It’s strange, I think if I were a guy, I wouldn’t get this question so often. I still have to somehow justify it,” wondered the American.
On the other hand, even though she was already the seventh player in the world and played the final of a Grand Slam, she is now experiencing a really great period in terms of results.
Nevertheless, she surprised with an honest admission that even though she seems to be doing well in tennis, she continues to struggle outside the courts.
“Meanwhile in Indian Wells, I was in pain again, this time it was my back. I literally couldn’t walk. Streams of tears were flowing. I thought why now, when this is the American tour. Finally, a physiotherapist and a chiropractor helped, they put me together. I am I’m proud that I managed it like this in Miami,” she added.
And if only that. Barely shaking off the confetti from her game outfit over the weekend, she moved to Charleston to begin the clay court season. She only had a few hours to prepare and immediately celebrated her win against the Spaniard Paula Badosa.
“On Sunday, I drove five hours to my hometown, slept in my bed and arrived here on Monday. It’s a special tournament here, I didn’t want to miss it and I wanted to play here for the last time,” explained the American.
2024-04-03 04:50:59
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