This week at the Miami Open, Danielle Collins had a dream come true as she captured one of her greatest victories to date and fulfilled a significant objective before she announces her retirement at the conclusion of the season.
In the final on Saturday, the 30-year-old American, who advanced to the Australian Open 2022, upset Elena Rybakina, the No. 4 seed, to win her first-ever WTA 1000 event and her first trophy at any level since 2021.
Collins, who has battled several health conditions over the years, including endometriosis and rheumatoid arthritis, said in January that this would be her final season.
She has nevertheless accomplished a lot in her career, rising to the position of seventh in the world and the top American female player at one point.
Collins stated following the match, “I really want to try to win a [WTA] 1000 this year. I really want to win every tournament that I have signed up for, but I do think that because it is my last year,” according to the WTA. . “That’s really important to me. That’s something that I talked a lot about with everybody close to me.”
Collins, who is rated 53rd in the world right now, won the Miami Open with an impressive exhibition of forceful hitting, making history as the lowest-ranked woman to do so.
She saved four break points to retain serve at 4-3 in an evenly matched set, then another at 5-5 to keep Rybakina under pressure.
And Collins seized the opening set when the Kazakh stumbled and gave up three set chances at 6-5.
Similar to the first set, the second set was fiercely contested as both players traded breakaways. However, Collins converted her break point while Rybakina wasted two, giving Collins a 5-3 lead. Shortly later, she converted her fourth match point to win the game.
The Floridian was competing on her home ground when she was cheered on by a boisterous audience that gave her the impression that she was “playing in front of thousands of my best friends.”
She reportedly said, “That was just surreal,” as reported by the WTA. “I will never forget this day because of that.”
She joined the ranks of Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, and Sloane Stephens as the sixth American woman to win the Miami Open.
Collins stated that she will not change her mind about retiring, even in light of her triumph in Miami.
She told Sky Sports, “I feel like all of these questions are coming from such a good place, because I feel like a lot of people would like to continue seeing me play well,”
“But like I said, I have some health challenges, and with those health challenges, it makes things for me away from the court a little more difficult. I hope everyone can respect that. It’s a very emotional and personal thing.”
