US defeats Rybakina of Kazakhstan 7-5, 6-3Collins earns the greatest professional title of her career in the previous year.
Danielle Collins, the runner-up at the last Australian Open, casually disclosed at the start of the season that this would be her last year as a professional tennis player. Collins has talked about her choice without suffering, in contrast to many others who find it difficult to move on. Rather than being depressing, accepting the end of her career has freed her up to make the most of her last moments and guarantee that she has no regrets.
Collins has been playing top-notch tennis for the last two weeks, methodically smashing the world’s top players off the court, building on his strong start to the year. Collins defeated fourth seed Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday to win the Miami Open, which is by far her biggest championship to date. This victory marked the end of one of the best working weeks of Collins’ career.
Collins, at No. 53, is the lowest-ranked Miami Open champion after winning her maiden WTA 1000 championship. Only Petra Kvitova, the victor of the Miami Open the previous year, is older than the 30-year-old. Collins, a former No. 7 who began the year ranked No. 71, will go up to No. 22 to return to the top 30.
Collins had a great chance to win the final based on his form and the caliber of tennis he had shown, even if there was a considerable difference in their rankings and deep experience in the biggest events. Collins had been absolutely devastating, while Rybakina had to battle through four difficult three-set clashes in her five matches, still trying to find her best form. She lost the opening set of the competition to Bernarda Pera, but she dominated the draw and didn’t give up more than five games in any other match until the championship.
Very little separated the two early in the final, with Rybakina’s huge first serve usually ruling the proceedings. However, Collins’s explosive and unrelenting ballstrokes, especially from her amazing two-handed backhand, gave her the upper hand in neutral rallies and frequently overpowered Rybakina, giving the Kazakh player a sense of weakness.
When Collins faced a break point at 5-5, he unleashed a blistering backhand down the line winner, capping a solid service game from both players. She then started to hit the ball with more and more abandon, and after holding service, she played a strong return game to win the set and break the serve.
Even though Rybakina kept threatening to turn the match around, Collins was rewarded for her increased willingness to seize control of the baseline and dictate the terms of the play throughout the second set. Ultimately, Collins sealed the greatest victory of her career with four match points during a torturous last game.
Collins’s decision to retire, while having a challenging 2023, had nothing to do with her skill level on the court, and she has been clear that outcomes would not influence her choice. She has experienced a number of health problems in the last few years, such as endometriosis, an excruciatingly painful condition in which tissues resembling the lining of the uterus grow outside of it, and rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease. The fact that the American has managed to compete at the greatest level is testament to her talent and mental toughness.
Collins has always been a dominant force on the tennis circuit, both in her professional career and her highly successful undergraduate career. She takes her own approach and exudes confidence. When she plays with passion, as evidenced by her unwavering battle and her signature “C’mon!” yells, she can hit shots that are really deadly, especially her flawless two-handed backhand. Her playing style is legendary. She has a distinctive accomplishment deserving of her talent now that she is in her last season.