Florida, ‘The Sunshine State’, has been battered by two powerful hurricanes in recent months. Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm, claimed at least 22 lives and left millions without power. Then came the Category 5, Hurricane Milton. To make matters worse, mudslides and flash floods made the rescue operations even more difficult. As the nation prayed for the affected, Danielle Collins shared her firsthand experience from her recent visit to Florida.

Collins, a resident of St. Petersburg, Florida, shared a post in her IG story when Hurricane Helene struck this beautiful city back in late-September. She gave a glimpse of her surroundings and in that post clearly showed how severe flooding and strong winds affected the entire area. She captioned that post with, “Praying for everyone affected by this awful storm.” Now, Collins has shared her harrowing experience from her visit to her childhood neighborhood in Florida with the New York Times.

“Driving through my childhood neighborhood and seeing what has happened to so many families, it’s really hard to wrap your head around. It was incredibly painful to witness,” said Danielle Collins. Even when Hurricane Milton made its landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, it left at least 10 dead, millions without power. In mid-October, following the passing of the Hurricane, Danielle Collins shared a heartfelt note for Floridians:

“Thanks to all who have been reaching out and checking in. It’s been a nightmare for so many Floridians. I consider myself very lucky that I have very little damage relative to so much of my family and friends. It puts everything into perspective.” Collins also highlighted the impact of the storm on her beloved dog, Quincy, who is also known as Mr. Q, “Blessed to still have a roof over my head and even though Mr.Q’s toys got drenched, he is happy these monster hurricanes are behind us.”

However, it wasn’t only Collins who had felt these sufferings during this time, other tennis stars also felt the pain equally. Who were they?

Danielle Collins and Serena Williams’ former coach were the first ones to share their thoughts on this grim situation in Florida

When Hurricane Helene hit Florida, Rennae Stubbs was another tennis entity who expressed her pain at seeing this beautiful city go through such a massive difficulty. She tweeted that time saying, “My friends, parents cottage in Florida. Sending so much love to everyone down in my old hometowns.” Then, the American superstar, Coco Gauff, came forward and offered prayers for the Floridians.

She shared a post on her IG story with a folding hand emoji and captioned it by saying, “Please Stay Safe Florida.” Even former tennis player Chris Evert, who resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, shared a clip from CNN’s coverage which showed the Tampa Mayor urging people to evacuate because of the storm. Evert asked all the Floridians to take the warnings seriously.

Martina Navratilova’s wife, Julia Lemigova, also has a farm located in Fort Lauderdale. Lemigova shared a few glimpses of the before-and-after scenes of the storm. She captioned that video with, “Yesterday before Milton at the farm.” Then, in the next video, she shared some visuals of her cattle and captioned it, saying, “But luckily everyone stayed safe!” Even Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard shared a series of photos on her IG story.

In her first IG story, she was seen in a car leaving for Florida airport and Bouchard captioned that post with “escaping the storm.” Then, in the next story, she gave a glimpse of the national alert for Hurricane Milton that she had received on her phone. In the third story, she shared a picture where she was seen sitting in a plane and she captioned that with, “Stay Safe Everyone.” How nice it was to see these tennis icons uniting to show their love and support for the Floridians, isn’t it?