The tennis world knows how to keep fans on their toes! It’s a thrilling mix of emotions—one moment, we’re dealing with heartbreaking farewells, and the next, we’re treated to a refreshing surprise. This month delivered one of those delightful surprises when Danielle Collins, the fierce American sensation, announced she’s not ready to hang up her racquet just yet. Her decision to continue playing has thrilled fans everywhere, sparking reactions from across the tennis community. And now, former American star Coco Vandeweghe has added her voice to the celebration.

The 32-year-old engaged in an interaction with Tennis Channel’s Inside In Podcast and deliberated on a wide range of topics pertaining to the sport. She also opened up about the change of decision from Collins about her retirement and revealed that although she was surprised to see the news, it did not take her long to accept it.

Speaking in the interview, Vandeweghe said, that she was in New Mexico for a charity event when she came across the news. “I was in New Mexico doing a charity event for this charity, it’s called first serve, and I was like ‘What in the world am I reading?’ So yes, I was surprised and that’s her. I mean she keeps things under wraps.” Remember, Collins, who suffers from endometriosis, took to her Instagram on October 17 and wrote, “The DANIMAL story has not reached its conclusion. I will be back on tour in 2025.” This came after the name of the player appeared for the 2025 United Cup scheduled to take place between January 1 and January 5 of the next year, creating confusion. But Vandeweghe believes that retracting from your retirement plans is accepted if the player is ready to play more matches.

Continuing further in the interview, she said, “She seems happy and that’s the most important thing in anyone’s career is be happy. If she’s happy, wants to play, you know that’s any player any person is entitled to their prerogative of finishing how they want to finish.” For the unversed, it was in January this year when Collins announced that she would retire from the tennis arena to grow her family. Interestingly, Vandeweghe is not the only person who has opened up about Danimal’s U-turn from retirement. 

Earlier, Andy Roddick expressed his delight over the news on his Served with Roddick Podcast on October 22. “Purely from a tennis fan perspective, I’m happy we’re going to get to see more of her,” he said. “I hope that everything that’s way more important than tennis works out eventually the way that she wants it to,” Roddick added. And as Collins gears up to return to the tour, it would be interesting to see if she can fulfill her unaccomplished dreams.

Danielle Collins has a wish to fulfill in Wimbledon

Danielle Collins has proved her mettle on various occasions and has established herself as a formidable force on the courts. But despite her remarkable talents, she has failed to win a single Grand Slam yet in her career. Her highest run in Grand Slams was till the finals of the Australian Open in 2022. And this year, when the player reached the All England Club for the grass-court Grand Slam Wimbledon, she shared an emotional wish.

In a post-match interview, Collins opened up about her desire to play a singles match on Centre Court in Wimbledon. “It’s a goal of mine to be able to play on Centre Court in a singles match at some point,” Collins said. “I have yet to do that in my career. So I am just trying to ride this thing out until I can play on Centre Court.” Although Collins played a doubles match with Desirae Krawczyk on Centre Court in 2022, she has not played a single match there. This year too, she could not accomplish her goal and was ousted in the fourth round itself.

As she now gears up to return to the courts yet again and continues to mesmerize her fans the next season as well, it would be interesting to see if she will fulfill this desire before finally retiring from the sport.