After announcing that she will be putting down her racket at the end of this season, Danielle Collins has been performing brilliantly on the women’s tour. Aside from clinching two back-to-back titles in Miami and Charleston, the American tennis player also secured a semifinal finish at the Italian Open. Collins’ phenomenal run during her farewell season has now prompted the Hall of Famer, Jimmy Connors, to issue emotional statements about the WTA player’s retirement as he hopes for a change of heart.

In the latest episode of Advantage Connors, the 8-time singles Grand Slam champion opened up about how he believes that Collins might now be skeptical about her retirement decision as she is on a roll this season. Connors said, “You know, with her success these last number of weeks, she’s got to be rethinking that. But then I wanna say, on the other hand, there is more to life than just tennis. You know, while you’re playing it, while you’re in the grind, and while you’re competing against the best players and giving it your all, you kind of forget that.”

While saying that he is proud of her, the former American tennis player went on to say that it will be up to Collins whether she wants to retire or not. The Hall of Famer said, “So it’s her decision, whatever she does, you know, I’m happy for her results. And you know what, I’m proud of her, she has stayed in there and she has been grinding and trying to be successful and then all of a sudden she makes the decision that, you know, there are other things in life that are better, and all of a sudden boom, you know, her game blossoms. That’s pretty exciting, and  I’m proud of her.”

Connors is quite ‘excited’ by Collins’ outstanding performances this season, regardless of whether she retires or not. Meanwhile, the ATP veteran also talked about how the 30-year-old player will now enter the upcoming Roland Garros with high confidence.

Jimmy Connors touts Danielle Collins ahead of the French Open

Danielle Collins has started the clay court season on a high note, as she recently outclassed some of the top seeds like Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Garcia to reach the semifinal rounds of the Italian Open. Taking note of her stellar form, Jimmy Connors asserted that the WTA player’s confidence has got to be all-time high ahead of the clay Grand Slam tournament in Paris.

In the same podcast show, the former tennis ace said, “The way she has played the last six or seven weeks and you know, the results that she has had, her confidence has got to be all-time high. She has won a couple of tournaments now, she’s been in the semifinals of Rome, which is a WTA 1000 tournament, and you’re going into the French.” What do you think of the American tennis legend raving about Danielle Collins’ performances during her farewell season? Let us know in the comments section.