Danielle Collins
Danielle Rose Collins is an American professional tennis player. She played collegiate tennis at the University of Virginia and won the NCAA singles title twice, 2014 and 2016, during her sophomore and senior years. Collins finished her career at Virginia in 2016 as the top-ranked collegiate player. She made a significant breakthrough in the WTA Tour when she reached the semifinals of the 2019 Australian Open.
Career
College
While at Virginia, she won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's best female tennis player in 2016.2009–2017
In 2009, Collins played her first events on the ITF Women's Circuit. She won her first ITF singles title in 2011. She did not play any professional matches in 2013 and 2015 while she was playing college tennis at Virginia.Collins made her WTA Tour main-draw debut as a wildcard at the 2014 US Open in the Arthur Ashe Stadium, where she forced second seed Simona Halep to a third-setter in the first round. In mid-2016, she turned fully professional. During her time on the ITF Circuit, she won 4 singles titles
2018: Breakthrough and top 50
Collins started the year reaching the third round of the qualifying rounds at the Australian Open before being outclassed by Denisa Allertová, in two sets. However, she received a wildcard at the WTA 125K tournament at Newport Beach, and claimed the title there, which saw her rise to a career-high ranking at that time of 120.Another impressive run at another WTA 125K tournament, this time in Indian Wells, saw her reach the quarterfinals and thus earn a wildcard at the BNP Paribas Open, a Premier Mandatory tournament that also takes place in Indian Wells. There, she won her first ever WTA match against compatriot Taylor Townsend, before beating world No. 14 Madison Keys in straight sets, followed by a victory over Sofya Zhuk. Although her run ended in the fourth-round to former world No. 6 Carla Suárez Navarro, Collins made her top-100 debut, jumping from No. 117 to No. 93.
Getting through the qualifying rounds at the Miami Open, Collins beat world No. 37 Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets before upsetting two-time major semifinalist CoCo Vandeweghe in three sets. Victories over Donna Vekić and Monica Puig followed, before she earned the biggest victory of her career, beating her idol, former world No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, who was the eighth-ranked player coming into their encounter. With this win she became the first qualifier ever to reach the semifinals at the Miami Open. She then faced sixth seeded Jeļena Ostapenko and lost in straight sets, despite having a set point in the first set. Making it to the quarterfinals in Monterrey, Collins broke into the top 50 for the first time.
2019: First major semifinal
Her rise continued at the Australian Open. Prior to the tournament, she had never won a match at a major event. After upsetting 14th seed Julia Görges in a tough first-round match, Collins won her next three matches in straight sets; first against Sachia Vickery, then against 19th seed Caroline Garcia. In the round of 16, Collins pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament, dominating the second seed and three-time major champion Angelique Kerber in straight sets. She thus reached the quarterfinals, where she defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets. In the semifinals, she lost to eighth seed Petra Kvitová in two sets. Collins also recorded her best doubles finish at a Grand Slam event in 2019 at Wimbledon with Bethanie Mattek-Sands, where they reached the quarterfinals. In December, Collins won the Hawaiian Open, an exhibition tournament, upon the withdrawal of her finals opponent Angelique Kerber.2020: Two big wins to begin the year
Collins began 2020 with three wins over top 15 opponents. She defeated world No. 5, Elina Svitolina, 6–1, 6–1 the first round at the Brisbane International before falling to world No. 13, Madison Keys 4–6, 1–6 in the quarterfinals. The following week at Adelaide International, she defeated No. 15 Sofia Kenin 6–3, 6–1 in the second round, and then No. 7 Belinda Bencic 6–3, 6–1 in the quarterfinals. Collins fell to world No. 1, Ash Barty, 6–3, 1–6, 6–7 in the semifinals.World TeamTennis
Collins played her first season with World TeamTennis in 2019 with Billie Jean King's Philadelphia Freedoms. She started the 2020 season on the Orlando Storm roster which began July 12, but was dismissed from the league after leaving the state and breaching COVID-19 safety protocols.Playing style
Collins employs a highly aggressive playing style that has been described as "fearless", "ferocious" and "fun to watch". She has a powerful serve, and strong groundstrokes on both wings, making her one of the hardest hitters on the WTA tour. Her style allows her to hit a high number of winners, but also a considerable amount of unforced errors. Her greatest strengths are her kick serve, her inside-out forehand, and her backhand down the line. She also possesses strong volleying skills, allowing her to hit winners from any position on the court.Personal life
Danielle is a daughter of Walter and Cathy Collins. She graduated from Northeast High School, St. Petersburg, Florida, in 2012. As a high school player, her junior ranking was good enough to get her a scholarship from the University of Florida. After her freshman year, she transferred to the University of Virginia. She won the NCAA singles title in her sophomore and senior years.She graduated from UVA with a bachelor's degree in media studies and business.
Her postgraduate plan was to play professional tennis and attend business school.
WTA 125K series finals
Singles: 1 (1 title)
ITF finals
Singles: 8 (4 titles, 4 runner–ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | ITF Williamsburg, United States | 10,000 | Clay |  Nika Kukharchuk | 6–1, 6–3 | |
| Win | 2–0 | ITF Stillwater, United States | 25,000 | Hard |  Caroline Dolehide | 1–0 ret. | |
| Loss | 2–1 | 2016 Tennis Classic of Macon – Singles| | ITF Macon, United States | 60,000 | Hard | Kayla Day | 1–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 2–2 | 2017 LTP Charleston Pro Tennis – Singles| | ITF Charleston, United States | 60,000 | Clay | Madison Brengle | 6–4, 2–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 2–3 | ITF Naples, United States | 25,000 | Clay | Claire Liu | 3–6, 1–6 | |
| Win | 3–3 | ITF Bethany Beach, United States | 25,000 | Clay | Lauren Embree | 6–1, 6–0 | |
| Loss | 3–4 | 2017 RBC Pro Challenge – Singles| | ITF Tyler, United States | 80,000 | Hard | Kristie Ahn | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 4–4 | ITF Norman, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Sachia Vickery | 1–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
Doubles: 2 (2 runner–ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | 2017 Boyd Tinsley Women's Clay Court Classic – Doubles| | ITF Charlottesville, United States | 60,000 | Clay | Madison Brengle |  Jovana Jakšić  Catalina Pella | 4–6, 6–7 |
| Loss | 0–2 | ITF Naples, United States | 25,000 | Clay | Taylor Townsend | Emina Bektas Sanaz Marand | 6–7, 1–6 |
Performance timelines
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup and Olympic Games are included in Win–Loss records.Singles
Current through the suspension of the 2020 WTA Tour.Doubles
Record against top 10 players
- Collins' match record against players who have been ranked in the top 10, with those who are active in boldface. Only WTA Tour main draw matches are considered.
- Players who at some point in their careers have attained this ranking. This is not necessarily the ranking held when they encountered each other.
Wins over top 10 players