“I couldn’t think of a better way to win my first 1000 title. It means the world to me.” The stars aligned in the best way possible for Danielle Collins as she secured a massive victory in Miami. Even the records made it clear that this victory counted as the biggest achievement of her career so far. But is it something that could be used to disregard her decades-long struggle?

The whole tennis community enjoyed Danielle Collins’ massive performance throughout the season. While she already made it clear that this would be the last season in her professional career, fans consistently kept asking her to reconsider the situation. However, amid the discussions of her retirement, intensity also found its way, leading to negative comments about her journey.

Collins is currently looking forward to gracing the final year of her professional tennis career by appearing at the Paris Olympics. In a recent interview, she opened up about the fact that her recent achievements are being weighted over the decades that she spent as a professional. “There’s been such a disregard for the hard work that I’ve put into the course of my career,” she said.

The veteran was exposed to several comments that made her feel insulted, even after navigating through competition at such an age. “Things haven’t clicked for me previously, consistently, and things are clicking for me now. It’s been so frustrating in a sense because I feel like I have to justify my success. I’ve worked so hard since I was 7 years old for this. And I feel like when this question gets brought up, it’s kind of like, ‘Oh, like you’re retiring. It must be so easy to have some success because it’s your last year.’ It doesn’t really work like that,” she added as a response to those statements.

Collins glided on top of a massive 2024 season. She won 35 of her 45 matches played so far, beating notably strong rivals on her journey. Along with the Miami Open win, the 30-year-old also made it to the fourth round at Roland Garros, losing to Aryna Sabalenka.

Collins plans to retire at the end of the season to focus on starting a family and managing her chronic health conditions. Her recent statement was targeted to make things clear, along with defending her position as a champion. However, besides the irrelevant questions about her victories, the WTA star also had to face repetitive comments about her retirement.

Danielle Collins urges fans to let her “have a family in peace”

Danielle Collins’ fans are not ready to accept her retirement call. Although the WTA star has been firm on her decision, she keeps facing repetitive queries about reconsidering the situation. In one of the interviews, the veteran vented out her frustration, marking the irrelevant demands of the fans as “bizarre”.

“I think society and even the people who follow my life closely have had a difficult time accepting the fact that I’m retiring, and it’s really bizarre,” she fiercely said. Mentioning how it has been a tough time for her to tackle these queries countless times, Collins added, “I’m going to be 31 at the end of the year, and that’s around the time when people make that milestone! It’s like, give me a break! Let me retire and have a family in peace!”

There’s a time when an athlete starts to understand that his/her body is not responding the way it used to. Although Collins has enjoyed a boost in the last season of her professional career, the fact that she now has to focus more on her health and personal life justifies her call.