Danielle Collins was unapologetic about her run-in with fans during her Australian Open campaign, and the brash American has joined the chorus of voices arguing that tennis must find ways to entertain new and younger audiences.
Playing the role of pantomime villain thanks to her antics with the crowd when she eliminated Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava, Collins was again the target of heckling from fans when she ventured to centre court on Saturday night for her third round match against countrywoman and friend Madison Keys.
The 2022 women’s runner-up was met with a mix of jeering and cheering from the bumper crowd from the moment she entered the court.
A number of fans, all male and from all corners of the stadium, heckled Collins for much of the match while Keys, who is a crowd favourite, received cheers and support.
“Get that paycheck Collins,” yelled one man.
Mostly people cheered when Keys got a winner or Collins hit one wide, others injected between serves or just as either player was about to serve.
Most of it was rude and little of it was funny.
At one point in the second set, an older man in the top section yelled at fans behind him to “shut up” and let the players play.
People around him cheered.
Collins, sometimes known as The Daminal, headed straight for her media conference just minutes after leaving the court.
Danielle Collins receives medical treatment during the match.Credit: Getty Images
Collins felt the Australian public and media identities may have taken her taunts to the fans a little too seriously than they were intended.
“The biggest thing is that nobody got hurt. Maybe some feelings got hurt or things were taken personally, and they probably shouldn’t have been taken personally by the crowd,” said Collins after she was beaten by Keys in straight sets.
“I feel like people take life way too seriously sometimes. I think in our sport, it’s like somebody was telling me that the average age of people watching and the fans of tennis is, like, 65.
“We need to kind of bring some entertainment to the game. I think we can try to make jokes and laugh.
“I don’t have a big ego when it comes to this. Honestly, I don’t care what’s written about me. I don’t care, like, what some guy living in his basement is writing on the internet.”
Jannik Sinner of Italy scrambles for a return.Credit: AP
Collins said she had friends asking to join her for the Bahamas holiday and she revealed several sponsorship offers.
“I’m towards the end of my career so it’s wonderful that I can capitalise on these opportunities,” Collins said.
“I think that six different sponsorship opportunities came up this tournament alone. That’s a great signal for me. Every fan contributes to that. It’s been a real blessing.”
It was a case of no regrets for Collins, who is also remembered by Australian fans for being on the other side of the net when Ash Barty famously ended the country’s long Australian Open singles drought three years ago.
“I’m just trying to have fun,” Collins said of her latest trip Down Under.
“I’m just trying to enjoy my life and have fun with it. All my friends on tour thought I was … trying to make humour of the situation.”
Keys said she expected Collins would be booed and was determined to focus her attention on the match which she did.
“I think it was expected, and it was kind of everything that I anticipated,” Keys said.
“I just tried to take care of my side of the net.”
After the first set, the stadium cameras panned to a fan who asked his girlfriend to marry him.
The woman looked stunned. Then she said yes. They hugged. People cheered. At least they didn’t boo.
Centre court’s moment to greet Collins came after world No.1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner’s third round match against American Marcos Giron, won by the Italian in three sets.
On this night Sinner played second fiddle to the drama surrounding Collins.
“I’m very happy to be here again,” the Italian said about reaching the round of 16 and the second week of another major.
“Felt like today was maybe the best match in the way of how [would like] to play.
“I made some still more mistakes … I felt like I was hitting the ball a little bit better than in the previous rounds.”
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