Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 18, 2025 Danielle Collins of the U.S. in action during her third round match against Madison Keys of the U.S. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Danielle Collins will exit the Australian Open as public enemy number one after roasting a hostile crowd at the Grand Slam and the American said following her defeat on Saturday that it was up to the fans if they wanted to repair their relationship.
Collins blew kisses at jeering fans and later thanked them for paying for her next five-star vacation following her second-round win over local favourite Destanee Aiava on Thursday, earning the sympathy of Novak Djokovic, who said the sport needed to take itself a bit less seriously.
After Thursday's match, Collins told reporters: "There were a lot of people that were super drunk and had a hard time controlling themselves."
While she did not play pantomime villain again, despite boos raining down on her, during a 6-4 6-4 defeat by childhood friend Madison Keys on Saturday, the 31-year-old said that fans had to determine whether they wanted to extend the olive branch.
"That's up to them, right? At the end of the day whatever happens, happens. The biggest thing is nobody got hurt. Maybe some feelings got hurt or things were taken personally. They probably shouldn't have been," Collins told reporters.
"I feel like people take life way too seriously sometimes. Somebody was telling me that the average age of people watching tennis is 65. We need to bring some entertainment to the game. We can try to make jokes and laugh.
"I don't have a big ego when it comes to this. I don't care what's written about me and I don't care what some guy living in his basement is writing on the Internet.
"I'm just trying to have fun, to enjoy my life and have fun with it. All my friends on tour thought I was -- they knew I was just being me and trying to make humour of the situation."
The former world number seven had planned to retire at the end of 2024 to start a family, but changed her mind in October and said the renewed attention she had received since was a blessing.
"Obviously I'm towards the end of my career. It's wonderful that I can capitalise on these opportunities," Collins said.
"I think that six different sponsorship opportunities come up in this tournament alone. That's a great signal for me. Every fan contributes to that."
Collins was hampered by a knee injury during her defeat by Keys and was unsure how it would impact her 2025 schedule, with appearances planned in Doha, Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami and Charleston.
"I'm someone that signs up for everything traditionally in my schedule and then I have the option to play if I want to play and if I don't, I can modify things," she said.
"At this point, I'm just enjoying the ride and seeing what happens. Obviously I still am dealing with health stuff as well, so trying to navigate that while I'm on the road and travelling is difficult."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Melbourne; editing by Clare Fallon)
