Danielle Collins

Danielle Rose Collins (born December 13, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. She played collegiate tennis at the University of Virginia and won the NCAA singles title twice, 2014 and 2016, during her sophomore and senior years. Collins finished her career at Virginia in 2016 as the top-ranked collegiate player. Having first established her place on the WTA Tour when she reached the semifinals of the 2018 Miami Open as a qualifier (recording her first top 10 victory over former World No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams along the way), Collins' big breakthrough came at the 2019 Australian Open, where she reached the semifinals, defeating world No. 2 Angelique Kerber in the fourth round. She was also a quarterfinalist at the 2020 French Open in singles and the 2019 Wimbledon Championships in doubles, and has won one WTA 125K and four ITF singles titles. She reached a career-high ranking of world No. 23 in singles on January 28, 2019 and No. 86 in doubles on March 2, 2020.
Career.
College.
While at Virginia, she won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's best female tennis player in 2016.
2009–2017.
In 2009, Collins played her first events on the ITF Women's Circuit. She won her first ITF singles title in 2011. She did not play any professional matches in 2013 and 2015 while she was playing college tennis at Virginia.
Collins made her WTA Tour main-draw debut as a wildcard at the 2014 US Open in the Arthur Ashe Stadium, where she forced second seed Simona Halep to a third-setter in the first round. In mid-2016, she turned fully professional. During her time on the ITF Circuit, she won four singles titles.
2018: Breakthrough and top 50.
Collins started the year reaching the final round of qualifying at the Australian Open before being outclassed by Denisa Allertová, in two sets. However, she received a wildcard at the WTA 125K tournament at Newport Beach, and claimed the title there, which saw her rise to a career-high ranking of 120 at that time.
Another impressive run at another WTA 125K tournament, this time in Indian Wells, saw her reach the quarterfinals and thus earn a wildcard for the BNP Paribas Open, a Premier Mandatory tournament that also takes place in Indian Wells. There, she won her first ever WTA Tour match against compatriot Taylor Townsend, before beating world No. 14, Madison Keys, in straight sets, followed by a victory over Sofya Zhuk. Although her run ended in the fourth-round to former world No. 6, Carla Suárez Navarro, Collins made her top-100 debut, jumping from No. 117 to No. 93.
Getting through the qualifying rounds at the Miami Open, Collins beat world No. 37, Irina-Camelia Begu, in straight sets before upsetting two-time major semifinalist CoCo Vandeweghe, in three sets. Victories over Donna Vekić and Monica Puig followed, before she earned the biggest victory of her career, beating her idol, former world No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam champion, Venus Williams, who was the eighth-ranked player coming into their encounter. With this win she became the first qualifier ever to reach the semifinals at the Miami Open. She then faced sixth-seeded Jeļena Ostapenko and lost in straight sets, despite having a set point in the first set. After making it to the quarterfinals in Monterrey, Collins broke into the top 50 for the first time.
Collins only won back-to-back main draw matches at two other tournaments the rest of the season, reaching the third round in Eastbourne and the semifinals in San Jose (both Premier-level events) and lost in the opening round at the remaining three Grand Slams. Nonetheless, she finished the year ranked No. 36 in the world, more than 100 spots above her previous best year-end ranking.
2019: Australian Open semifinal.
Her rise continued at the Australian Open. Prior to the tournament, she had never won a match at a major event. After upsetting 14th seed Julia Görges in a tough first-round match, Collins won her next three matches in straight sets; first against Sachia Vickery, then against 19th seed Caroline Garcia. In the round of 16, Collins pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament, dominating the second seed and three-time major champion Angelique Kerber, in straight sets. She thus reached the quarterfinals, where she defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets. In the semifinals, she lost to eighth seed Petra Kvitová, in two sets. Collins rose to a career-high ranking of No. 23 following the tournament. She also recorded wins at all the other Grand Slam events, reaching the second round at the French Open and US Open as well as the third round at Wimbledon. She also recorded her best-ever Grand Slam doubles result at Wimbledon, reaching the quarterfinals with Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Collins struggled outside of the majors though, reaching the quarterfinals at just one tournament (the Charleston Open). In December, she won the Hawaii Open, an exhibition tournament, upon the withdrawal of her finals opponent Angelique Kerber. Collins finished the year ranked 31st.
2020: Two big wins to begin the year, French Open quarterfinalist.
Collins began 2020 with three wins over top-15 opponents. She defeated world No. 5, Elina Svitolina, 6–1, 6–1 the first round at the Brisbane International before falling to world No. 13, Madison Keys, 4–6, 1–6 in the quarterfinals. The following week at the Adelaide International, she defeated No. 15, Sofia Kenin, 6–3, 6–1 in the second round, and then No. 7, Belinda Bencic, 6–3, 6–1 in the quarterfinals. Collins fell to world No. 1, Ash Barty, 6–3, 1–6, 6–7(5) in the semifinals. However, she fell in the second round to Yulia Putintseva at the Australian Open, and dropped outside the top 50 due to failing to defend her semifinalist points.
Due to the six-month shutdown of the WTA Tour caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Collins did not play again after the Australian Open until August. She lost in the opening round of her first two tournaments back, to Jil Teichmann at the Western & Southern Open and Anett Kontaveit at the US Open. However, Collins rebounded at the French Open, where she reached her second career Grand Slam quarterfinal. Along the way, she upset two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1, Garbiñe Muguruza, in the third round (handing the Spaniard her earliest exit from Roland Garros since 2013) as well as 30th seed Ons Jabeur, both in three sets. Her run ultimately came to an end against compatriot and reigning Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, in a match that for both players was their fourth three-setter of five matches.
World TeamTennis.
Collins played her first season with World TeamTennis in 2019 with Billie Jean King's Philadelphia Freedoms. She started the 2020 season on the Orlando Storm roster which began July 12, but was dismissed from the league after leaving the state and breaching COVID-19 safety protocols.
Playing style.
Collins employs a highly aggressive playing style that has been described as "fearless", "ferocious" and "fun to watch". She has a powerful serve, and strong groundstrokes on both wings, making her one of the hardest hitters on the WTA Tour. Her style allows her to hit a high number of winners, but also a considerable amount of unforced errors. Her greatest strengths are her kick serve, her inside-out forehand, and her backhand down the line. She also possesses strong volleying skills, allowing her to hit winners from any position on the court.
Personal life.
Danielle is a daughter of Walter and Cathy Collins. She graduated from Northeast High School, St. Petersburg, Florida, in 2012. As a high school player, her junior ranking was good enough to get her a scholarship from the University of Florida. After her freshman year, she transferred to the University of Virginia (UVA). She won the NCAA singles title in her sophomore and senior years.
She graduated from UVA with a bachelor's degree in media studies and business.
Her postgraduate plan was to play professional tennis and attend business school.
Performance timelines.
"Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records."
Singles.
"Current through the 2021 Miami Open."
Record against other players.
Record against top 10 players.
Collins' record against players who have been ranked in the top 10. Active players are in boldface.