Danielle Collins Defends Her Smirky Laugh From the United Cup Final as She Prepares for Australian Open 2025

“Didn’t know if you guys noticed this but… New year, same me,” Danielle Collins wrote on Instagram last week, after a viral moment during the United Cup final between the U.S. and Poland. The moment, which captured her cold handshake and smirking expression toward Iga Swiatek, quickly caught attention online.

While Team USA triumphed—thanks to Coco Gauff’s 6-4, 6-4 win over Swiatek and Taylor Fritz’s 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4) victory over Hubert Hurkacz, putting the U.S. in a 2-0 lead—what truly grabbed the spotlight was Collins’ reaction. Many assumed it had something to do with tension between the two players. But Collins has now clarified the situation.

At a pre-event press conference on Saturday ahead of the 2025 Australian Open, where she’ll face Ukraine’s Daria Snigur in the first round, Collins addressed the viral handshake moment. “Most of us are pretty cool about shaking hands with each other at the end of the day. I’m a human. I have situations I like, situations I don’t like, things that happen,” she explained.

Referring to the memes and online speculation, Collins added, “All these memes keep coming up on Instagram of my face… my face says it all! But, you know, I’m just somebody that’s pretty genuine about what I’m thinking and feeling, and I’ll also laugh at myself too.” Collins also made light of the situation by updating her profile picture with a zoomed-in shot of her smiling while giving Swiatek a cold handshake.

She shared a story where she wrote, “Sometimes I just gotta laugh at myself.” While fans had assumed the moment reflected tension between Collins and Swiatek, the American clarified that the reason for her expression had nothing to do with the Pole. It turns out, her reaction was more about her feelings in the moment, rather than any personal rivalry.

“I know I can be this way. It’s not always the greatest but I try to poke fun at myself and not take myself too seriously. I would encourage other people to do the same. If we can’t laugh at ourselves and take things light-heartedly, what the heck are we doing?” she revealed. She also clarified her reaction was “taken out of context, and fans think they know players personally, they think they know the ins and outs of what takes place on a daily basis, but the reality is they really don’t. I’m just trying to make fun of myself now.”

While the world number #11 may have her own explanation, her long-running equation with Swiatek paints a different picture. But what exactly happened between these two?

Revisiting Danielle Collins and Iga Swiatek’s heated face-off that fueled a tense equation

Back in July 2024, at the Paris Olympics, Collins played against Iga Swiatek in the QF round. The match is still remembered more for the heated moments between the two and less for the result. For the unversed, Swiatek won it 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 and secured a spot in the semis. But during the encounter, she apparently made Collins extremely furious.

For instance, there was a moment when Collins was about to serve but Swiatek stopped her. She lifted her racket, signaling her to stop while citing distraction from the crowd. To this, the American was heard saying, “Play at the server’s pace!” Undoubtedly, she was annoyed with the former World No.1 and five-time Grand Slam winner’s gestures.

Then there was an instance, during the final phases of the match, when Collins accidentally hit a stroke at Swiatek’s mid-rib. Out of concern, she went towards her and asked if everything was okay. “I was hit right under the ribs. I couldn’t breathe for a few seconds, but a moment later everything returned to normal and everything is fine now,” Swiatek said later on.

The match ended abruptly as Collins decided to retire due to her abdominal injury. During the moment of sharing handshakes, Collins was seen interacting with her for quite a long time. But what did she say to her? On social media, when asked regarding the same, she said, “I told Iga she didn’t have to be insincere about, you know, my injury. There’s a lot that happens on camera, and there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma and come out and are one way on camera and another way in the locker room.”

“And I just haven’t had the best experience, and I don’t feel like anybody needs to be insincere. They can be the way that they are. I can accept that, and I don’t need that fakeness.” she added. While everyone thought the 31-year-old left this memory behind her, Collins’ United Cup final reaction then reignited the drama last week.

Meanwhile, the American’s sole focus will be on the Australian Open now. Last year, she couldn’t go past the second round at the Major. And guess who her opponent was? Yes, it was Iga Swiatek who took the battle 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Can Danielle Collins improve her record this time down under? Only time will tell.