Danielle Collins kept her athletic dreams alive, even while battling health challenges after she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, in 2019. It took her some time to win tournaments and keep in good form in the final chapter of her career. However, recently, the 30-year-old opened up about a regret that she has had from the past, wishing she could have smartly handled her health issue way before time.

Recently, when the Miami Open champion appeared on Andy Roddick’s podcast show, she wished that it would have been great if her creativity clicked a few years ago than now. She stated, “Over the years, with my health challenges, I’ve had to become more creative and how to work around those challenges. I think there’s been times where I have over trained I think there’s times where, I wasn’t probably doing the right things, taking care of my body and I just wasn’t aware of like what are the things that work for me?”

Not only that, but further she also talked about how the level of competition in the WTA arena has grown. However, just like her performance this year that came with her first Miami Open title followed by a Charleston Open, Collins clearly emphasized on the fact that it would be great if she understood today’s ideology a few years back when she was struggling to even do well on the court.

In addition, she said, “What are the things that don’t work for me? And it’s been a bit of a learning curve. I haven’t, like I said, I haven’t been on tour that long compared to a lot of the other players my age. And so, it’s finally clicking for me and it’s pretty late in my career for this to be happening.”

Subsequently, she also seemed quite aware of the fact that all the happiness and achievements came after a long time, literally near the end of her career, as she is about to retire by the end of this year. The 30-year-old has overcome physical obstacles such as endometriosis and rheumatoid arthritis to forge a prosperous career in tennis. On the other hand, during her retirement announcement, she also talked about handling and overcoming her health conditions to have a tennis career.

She stated, “I was able to overcome a lot of it, and of course, there were challenges along the way, but I was able to play through two chronic inflammatory conditions and did pretty well.” A few months ago, she commented about how wonderful it is to have a great career highlight to look back on, even though she has no plans for expanding her tennis career.

Danielle Collins reflects on her career and what’s next

Looking back on her career highlights, she conveyed her thanks for those special wins that she thought would be treasured as happy memories in the future. Collins, who is thirty years old, feels content despite her retirement and is eager to start a family and travel less.

She stated, “I do think those big wins are things that you probably look back on when you get older and you think very fondly of. I think when I get older, I’ll definitely look back on those matches and have fond memories and, hopefully by that time, it won’t be a blur.” Collins, who is in her last season of competition, leaves a resilient and unwavering legacy that may serve as an inspiration to other athletes dealing with similar health issues. Her narrative serves as a reminder that, despite obstacles, athletes can overcome adversity and accomplish their goals if they are determined and persistent.