Danielle Collins gave tennis fans cause for concern with upsetting scenes during her Cincinnati Open defeat on Friday.
The American suffered a 6-4 7-6 defeat to fellow American Taylor Townsend, but it was an incident towards the end of the match that made headlines.
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With Townsend preparing to serve with a 2-0 lead in the second set tie-break, a clearly distraught Collins turned and walked towards her box, held out her arms and proceeded to make her feelings known in their direction with an almighty shriek.
Not everything that Collins said could be made out, but the latter part of her cry included the words ‘Why is this happening to me’ as she moved her hand towards her face.
Some of the fans in attendance attempted to rally the 33-year-old who has planned to retire at the end of last season only to reverse her decision to return to the tour this year.
Collins was able to focus and finish out the match, winning just two more points as Townsend took the tie-breaker and the set to book a place in the second round.
However Collins was clearly still upset, she left the court without her equipment back, which Townsend picked up and passed up to Collins’ team in the box before carrying out her post match duties.
The Californian has yet to speak but has struggled for form over the last few months after a bright start to the year.
She has won just three matches since reaching the Round of 32 at Wimbledon, where she was beaten by eventual champion Iga Swiatek.
Now ranked 57 in the world, Collins is a former Australian Open finalist and enjoyed her best ever year in 2024, winning the Miami Open.
That was one of two titles last year, doubling her career singles tally and going some way to helping her reverse her retirement decision.
The Californian has become a fan favourite for her gritty, all-action performances on the court but also the honesty she has addressed issues off the court.
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Having previously admitted battles with mental health and arthritis, her candid admission about her endometriosis condition has been praised.
Her retirement plan was in place to fulfil her ambition of becoming a mother, but in October last year, she posted on Instagram that she was delaying her retirement, saying the “The Danimal story has not reached its conclusion. I will be back on tour in 2025.”
But she was conscious of her desire to start a family, and the challenges that endometriosis had dealt her, with tennis proving to be a distraction as she moved forward.
“Dealing with endometriosis and fertility is a massive challenge for many women and something that I am actively traversing, but I am fully confident in the team I am working with.
“It is just going to take longer than I thought.”
Townsend, who became the world no.1 in doubles last month, has returned to the court herself having becoming a mother in 2021.
She return to the court in April 2022, and became the first mother to top the doubles world rankings when she picked up her third doubles title of the year, winning in Washington alongside Katarina Siniakova.
In Cincinnati she advances to the second round and a meeting with 13th seed Liudmila Samsonova, while at the US Open later this month, she will team up with Ben Shelton in the eagerly anticipated mixed doubles.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
