Danielle Collins won’t be retiring after all following the conclusion of the 2024 season but also admits that she is still dealing with major challenges regarding her health condition and that it will “take longer than I thought” to achieve her family dreams.
As you probably already know very, the American tennis star announced in January that this would be her last season on the Tour because she wanted to focus on tackling endometriosis – a chronic inflammatory condition that negatively impacts fertility – and achieve her dream of becoming a mother.
Since then, Collins has had some of her best playing days, becoming a WTA 1000 champion – landing back-to-back titles for the first time in her career in Miami and Charleston and going on a career-best winning streak of 13 matches. Also, she was a semifinalist in Rome and made the Lyon final.
Danielle Collins© Danielle Collins/Instagram – Fair Use
Throughout the year, the world No. 9 was asked if her retirement plans could change. However, she would shut it down every time.
But after her name appeared on the entry list for the 2025 United Cup, it was a major sign that her decision changed. And it did.
Collins explains in an Instagram post: Health issues are still there, it hasn’t gone as planned…
While this has been a big year for the American, the last few months have been a bit rough because she has been dealing with injuries but also issues regarding her endometriosis. But since starting to work with a new group of specialists, she was told that it “would take longer than expected” and therefore it opened the path for her to continue her career.
“Hi everyone, I’ve been a little MIA the last few weeks so I want to give everyone an update. It’s been a stressful time with these horrific hurricanes that wiped through Florida, and on top of it I’ve been dealing with some issues around my endometriosis and other health challenges. While I was very excited and eager to wrap up my tennis career on a high note this year and jump headfirst into my next chapter of life, things have not gone as planned,” Collins wrote.
“In addition to managing some lingering health challenges the past few months, I’ve recently been seeing a handful of specialists to better understand what my best path forward is to achieve my ultimate dream, starting a family. Dealing with endometriosis and fertility is a massive challenge for many women and something that I am actively traversing, but I am fully confident in the team I am working with. It is just going to take longer than I thought.
“So, the DANIMAL story has not reached its conclusion. I will be back on tour in 2025. While there are no guarantees in life, I hope to build on my 2024 momentum and keep playing until there is more certainty around my personal fertility journey. The only guarantee for now will be some more epic matches.”
A post shared by Danielle Collins (@danimalcollins)
Collins appeared to be ready to retire after the US Open
After an abdominal injury forced the American to retire her Paris Olympics quarterfinal match to Iga Swiatek, she also went on to lose her opening matches in Monterrey, the US Open and Guadalajara. The US Open first-round defeat was especially painful since there were hopes she could possibly contend for the title there.
Following a shock exit to Caroline Dolehide in New York, Collins admitted that she was dealing with some problems.
“I have honestly just had so many distractions away from the court. Just going through life’s challenges and coping with it,” she said at Flushing Meadows.
In that same presser, the 30-year-old also indicated that she was ready for retirement life.
But in the end, fans got what they wanted and Collins will continue her career. However, it doesn’t change the fact that she wasn’t the happiest about the constant retirement questions she was getting throughout the year. The biggest reason why the world No. 9 was so annoyed with those questions was because she opened up about her health condition but some “were not respecting it.”
“In a press conference a few days ago someone said ‘what could change your mind? I found myself once again explaining how I have had multiple surgeries and seen multiple medical professionals. I’ve been advised by doctors that my pregnancy journey should begin as soon as possible, given the severity of my endometriosis. Through this experience I have found most people aren’t very empathetic to the struggles others go through,” Collins said in May.
