Danielle Collins has hit back at criticism of her goading of the Australian Open crowd, saying: “I don’t care what a man living in his basement writes on the internet.”
Collins, the American world number 11, has come under fire in the past two days after her provocative response to beating home favorite Destanee Aiava on Thursday. A raucous crowd had been vocal in their support for Aiava, and after winning in three sets, Collins put her hand to her ear, blew kisses to the supporters and thanked them in her on-court interview for providing a “big paycheck. ”
Later in her post-match press conference, she added: “One of the best things about being a professional athlete is the people who don’t like you and the people who hate you: they actually pay your bills. It’s a pretty cool concept.
“Everyone who bought a ticket to come here and harass me, it’s all going to the Danielle Collins Fund. Come on. I love it.”
The 31-year-old was defeated 6-4, 6-4 by compatriot Madison Keys in the third round on Saturday and was booed throughout by the Australian fans. Collins, who suffered a knee injury towards the end of the match, made a peace gesture to the stands as she left the pitch, but then made another reference to the home fans, ultimately increasing her earning potential.
“It’s great that I can take advantage of these opportunities,” she said at a post-match press conference on Saturday. “I think this tournament alone has created six different sponsorship opportunities. That’s a great signal for me.
“It’s clear that, as I said, every fan contributes to that. It has been a real blessing.”
She added that she is not bothered by the abuse that comes her way, both on and off the field, including Tony Jones, a veteran Australian sports presenter, who called her “a brat” on Friday. “I don’t have a big ego when it comes to this,” Collins said, later calling Jones “this old man.” “Honestly, I don’t care what is written about me. I don’t care what a guy living in his basement writes on the internet.
Her response to Thursday’s bickering was praised the following evening by 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who said he “found violence” that Collins was taking on the home crowd. He added that he is now a ‘big fan’ of the American, saying the rest of the dressing room was also supporting him. Djokovic went on to say that tennis as a sport needs to become less single-minded and more adventurous, even advocating for dancers to provide on-court entertainment mid-match.
Collins reiterated the need to modernize tennis. “I feel like people take life way too seriously sometimes,” she said. “Someone told me that the average age of tennis watchers and fans is about 65 years old (as of last summer, the average age of a Tennis Channel viewer in the United States was 62, according to Nielsen, the data collector). We need to bring some entertainment into the game. We can try to joke and laugh.”
Of the booing she faced on Saturday, Collins said: “Obviously I expected that. That’s fine. Like I said, I really enjoy playing in these types of environments. You worked so hard for that all your life as a child. I embraced it. Yes, I liked it overall. It put me on edge at times.”
Collins was unsure of the severity of the knee problem she had picked up and referred to a foot problem she is also dealing with, but said she would take the holiday she had referred to after beating Aiava. “Me and my group of girlfriends love a five-star vacation, so I can guarantee the check goes to our next five-star trip – hopefully to the Bahamas,” Collins said in her on-court interview after beating Aiava. .
“We love boats, we love big boats, we love yachts, so we’ll post about it and let you know how it goes.”
She joked that other players have asked 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 forced her to continue. She has signed up for the events in Doha, Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami and Charleston in the coming months, fitness and health permitting.
Keys will play No. 6 seed Elena Rybakina in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Sunday.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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