Danielle Collins responds to Australian Open criticism: ‘Six sponsorship opportunities presented themselves at this tournament’

Danielle Collins has hit back at criticism of the Australian Open crowd by saying: “I don’t care what some guy living in his basement writes on the internet.”

Collins, the American world No. 11, has been criticized over the past two days after her defiant reaction to beating local favorite Destanee Aiava on Thursday. A noisy crowd had voiced their support for Aiava, and after winning in three sets, Collins put his hand to his ear, blew kisses to the fans and thanked them during his on-court interview for providing him with a ” big paycheck.” »

Later in her post-match press conference, she added: “One of the greatest things about being a professional athlete is the people who don’t like you and the people who hate you , they pay your bills. It’s a pretty cool concept.

“Every person that bought a ticket to come here and heckle me, it all goes to the Danielle Collins Fund. Bring it. I love him.”

The 31-year-old was beaten 6-4, 6-4 in the third round on Saturday by compatriot Madison Keys and was booed throughout by Australian fans. Collins, who injured her knee late in the match, made a gesture of peace toward the stands as she left the field, but then made another reference to the home fans, ultimately offering her greater winning potential.

“It’s wonderful to be able to capitalize on these opportunities,” she said in a post-match press conference on Saturday. “I think six different sponsorship opportunities came up during this tournament alone. This is a great signal for me.

“Obviously, like I said, every fan contributes to it. It has been a true blessing.

She added that she was not bothered by the invective that came her way 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 referring to Jones as “that old guy.” “Honestly, I don’t care what’s written about me. I don’t care what some guy living in his basement writes on the Internet.

His response to Thursday’s ruckus was praised the following evening by 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who said he “loved” Collins taking on the home crowd. He added that he was now a “big fan” of the American, who said the rest of the dressing room had given him similar support. Djokovic went on to say that tennis needs to become a less serious and more adventurous sport, even advocating that dancers provide mid-match entertainment on court.

Collins echoed the need for tennis to modernize. “I feel like people take life too seriously sometimes,” she said. “Someone told me that the average age of tennis viewers and fans is about 65 (last summer, the median age of a Tennis Channel viewer in the United States was 62 years, according to Nielsen data collector). We must bring entertainment to the game. We can try to make jokes and laugh.

Of the boos she faced on Saturday, Collins said: “I expected it, obviously. It’s very good. Like I said, I really enjoy playing in these types of environments. This is what you worked so hard for all your life as a child. I adopted him. Yeah, I thought overall it was good. This sometimes excited me.

Collins was unsure of the severity of the knee problem she had acquired and referred to a foot problem she also deals with, but said she would take the vacation she referred to after beating Aiava. “Me and my group of girlfriends love five-star vacations, so I can guarantee this check will go towards our next five-star trip – hopefully to the Bahamas,” Collins said during her on-site interview after beating Aiava. .

“We love boats, we love big boats, we love yachts, so we’ll talk about it and let you know how it goes.”

She joked that other players had asked her if they could go on 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 events in Doha, Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami and Charleston over the coming months, fitness and health permitting.

Keys faces No. 6 seed Elena Rybakina in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Sunday.

This article was originally published in The Athletic.

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