It has been a dream turnaround for Danielle Collins this season, isn’t it? After announcing that the 2024 season would be the final year of her tennis career, Collins gave it her all and reaped huge rewards. The American tennis star found success in Miami and Charleston, apart from a consistent run of form in other tournaments. The current season will potentially go down as one of the most successful ones in her tennis career, and she has her boyfriend, Bryan Kipp, to thank for it.

It is often said that behind every successful man, there is a woman. However, in the case of Collins, it has been the opposite as her boyfriend has been a pillar of support for her while she traveled to tournaments across the globe. Bryan Kipp can often be seen cheering for Collins during matches and has motivated her to give her best.

Earlier today, a new episode of Advantage Connors podcast was released in which the American star talked about how her boyfriend has supported her in her career. “My boyfriend has been so supportive. My boyfriend’s from Boston. He’s a pretty gritty person. He has encouraged me to be myself constantly and putting my heart out there and I feel like having that encouragement has been huge,” Collins said.

Interestingly, Bryan is a former athlete who played football for Columbia University in New York. Although knowing nothing about tennis early in his relationship with Collins, it didn’t stop him from supporting his girlfriend. Despite Bryan being a stranger to tennis, Collins felt that things could be exciting and she wasn’t wrong.

Danielle Collins and Bryan had an interesting introduction

Bryan is a graduate with an engineering degree and holds the position of Vice President at biotech firm Revvity. When he first came across Collins, he was unaware that she was a renowned tennis player as he didn’t know much about the sport. Nonetheless, it was love at first sight for the duo despite their differing interests.

Collins once recalled their first interaction, saying, “We have been going out for a while now. We met at a coffee shop in London so that was pretty exciting. I didn’t think I would meet someone at a coffee shop. Who would have thought? Just after the tournament, Wimbledon. He didn’t know anything about tennis, and he didn’t know I was a tennis player, which was really nice. He was actually a bigger fan of golf and so he said, ‘Well I really like golf. I don’t really know much about tennis’. And I was like, ‘Yes! That’s so exciting’.”

Despite experiencing an uptick in her career, Collins wants to focus on her personal life and start a family with Bryan. As a result, she announced that the ongoing season would be the last one of her career. With not much time left before her retirement, it’ll be interesting to see if she can have one last laugh before she bids adieu to the sport. What do you think about Collins’ chances in the US Open? Let us know in the comments.