The Australian Open this year sure had a lot of intense moments. But Danielle Collins’ second-round match against local wildcard Destanee Aiava stood out. The hostile crowd loudly cheered for Aiava and booed Collins throughout. At one point, Collins snapped, telling the crowd to “shut up!” after they disrupted her serve. She then turned up the heat, blowing sarcastic kisses, cupping her ear, and even pointing to her backside in response to the jeers. After winning, Collins cheekily thanked the hecklers for “paying my bills,” turning their boos into fuel for her showmanship. However, for Aiava, the story was different.
Ranked around No. 177, the young Aussie star had made a strong start to the tournament by qualifying for the main draw and battling through a three-hour first-round marathon against Belgium’s Greet Minnen, saving two match points to win 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(5). Facing the 10th seed Collins in the second round was filled with drama, but not for her.
On May 13, Aiava shared her side on The Sit-Down, calling it an honor to play at the Australian Open as a wildcard and reach round two. She said, “It ended and I lost, and then I was walking up to the net and I just saw her do her thing and I was like, ‘oh, I should probably not look that way and ignore’. (laughter)” She added, “But after the match, she was really lovely to me at the net. She messaged me as well, which I really respect, and she was so kind to me. So I could only say good things about her.”
The crowd was highly partisan, with boos escalating after contentious moments during the second set. Aiava focused on herself, saying, “I tried to avoid what she was doing on the court, and yeah, just let her do her thing. But I’m really grateful that I had that kind of experience as well. I feel like you don’t really get those kinds of matches too often.”
Despite the hostile crowd, Collins kept her energy on the win. She playfully engaged with the booing fans, blowing kisses and exclaiming, “How about that?!” During her on-court interview, she cheekily remarked, “I might as well take that big fat paycheck!” Her 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 victory earned her 290,000 AUD (about $180,000). Collins joked that part of the prize money would fund a luxury vacation with fellow player Coco Vandeweghe, showing her ability to thrive amid a hostile atmosphere. The 30-year-old turned the crowd’s jeers into motivation.
Although Collins’ run ended in the next round against eventual champion Madison Keys. But that wasn’t the only drama surrounding her. Earlier at the United Cup, she had a tense moment with Iga Swiatek, marked by a cold handshake post-match, stemming from their feud at the Paris Olympics. Collins received support from teammate Coco Gauff for that incident.
Gauff notes that Danielle is just “going to be Danielle” after Swiatek controversy
In January, Collins grabbed headlines during the United Cup for a frosty handshake with Iga Swiatek that went viral. Many speculated it was linked to Swiatek’s doping controversy, but Collins dismissed those rumors. Teammate Coco Gauff shared her take on Collins’ personality amid the drama, saying, “I think for me like, especially like being on the team Danielle was just so fun and brought the best energy… she was sick like the first week so um once like that was all cleared up she brought like great energy on the bench and um she’s been fun and I will say I think she’s I don’t know maybe more relaxed now. I always say Danielle’s going to be Danielle and there’s no one changing her and she doesn’t care either.”
Collins also defended herself, explaining the handshake moment with Swiatek wasn’t meant in bad spirit. “I’m a human. I have situations I like, situations I don’t like, things that happen. All these memes keep coming up on Instagram of my face… my face says it all,” she said after facing criticism.
Additionally, after Swiatek came under fire for her positive results for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ), which came from her sleep/jet lag medication. Collins expressed her empathy to the Pole while many criticized her for “partial treatment.”
She said, “Obviously, I empathize with the people that have struggled with supplements and contamination. I’m sure that’s a real thing, but honestly, that hasn’t been a big concern to me cuz I feel like I have a lot of trust in my daily vitamins and the stuff that I am using. I feel like all the third-party testing they’re doing now and making sure that all of those factories where they are producing these products they’re pretty stringent on what can be made in those facilities and so it hasn’t been something that I’ve been fearful of.”
Fast forward six months, Collins finally toppled Swiatek at the Italian Open in the round of 32, a satisfying win after their tense history. However, her run ended in the round of 16 against Elina Svitolina, closing her campaign in Rome. The big question now: will Collins come back stronger at the French Open? And can she count on the crowd’s support at Roland Garros? What do you think? Share your thoughts below!
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