Fans who were left concerned by Danielle Collins‘ mid-match outburst earlier in the week were spot on.
After going down a set to fellow American Taylor Townsend in the opening round of the Cincinnati Open, Collins appeared to express frustration during a second-set tiebreak, audibly shouting at her player box in a concerning tone.
Moments after shaking hands with Townsend following the straight-set loss, Collins then proceeded to exit the court without her bag, à la Daniil Medvedev.
On Saturday, following the former world No. 7’s Round of 128 match against Taylor Townsend on Friday, Collins revealed via Instagram that she’s been battling a herniated disc.
Alongside a reel showing her frustrations during Friday’s match, Collins wrote:
“Anyone who has a herniated disc knows my pain. It’s no surprise the keyboard warriors can’t understand or relate, as they’ve been too busy sitting on their asses judging people who show up and try to give it their best even on days that suck. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my injury and thank you to Taylor Townsend for being the best of the best.”
You can see a screenshot of her story post below, courtesy of The Tennis Letter:
You can also see the full video Collins reposted showing her mid-match frustrations, below:
Looking at Danielle Collins’ Season So Far
Last season, Danielle Collins revealed that she would be retiring to start a family at the end of the year. Despite that, heartbreaking fertility challenges wound up leading to the 2024 Miami Open champ deciding to continue her career.
After starting the season ranked No. 11 in the world, Collins has continued to fall down the WTA rankings throughout much of the season.
In early July, after Round of 32 exits at the Libema Open, Wimbledon, and the Mubadala Citi DC Open, Collins’ ranking reached a season-low of 66.
Since then, however, she’s bounced back by landing at No. 59 on the WTA live rankings,
Considering she was eliminated from the first round of the US Open last year, Collins could wind up catapulting herself back up the rankings with a deep run in New York this year.
Will Collins Keep Playing After 2025?
Last year, it appeared as though Danielle Collins was going to end her career with a remarkable run that saw her reach the Olympics and win a Masters 1000 title in her final season.
Despite that, Collins revealed via Instagram in October of 2024 that she had been meeting with specialists in order to navigate the obstacles she faced in becoming a mother.
As the Danimal announced at the time, she was putting her retirement on hold, and planning to play the 2025 season.
Naturally, the post led to an outpouring of support from fans and fellow players alike as the ATP & WTA communities rallied around the American standout.
Since then, however, there’s been no news regarding whether Danielle Collins plans to retire at the end of this season.
While her long-term focus is on fulfilling her dream of becoming a mother, hopefully we get a chance to see Collins recover from her herniated disc and bounce back from her early exit in Cincinnati sooner rather than later.
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