As Danielle Collins readies to play her third semifinal in four tournaments played over the past eight weeks, what does she want people to remember about her tennis career?
"I think it's important for me to feel like, 'OK, I got everything I could out of myself as an athlete, and end on a positive note,' rather than being like, 'Oh, God, what happened?' That's just how I want to go down," Collins said Wednesday after beating former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.
Collins will face No.2 Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday in a rematch of their fourth-round match from the Mutua Madrid Open, bidding to reach her second career WTA 1000 final.
But the American is taking away as much as she's giving from her farewell tour after first revealing her intentions following defeat to Iga Swiatek at the Australian Open.
The numbers speak for themselves: After making that announcement, Collins is 30-5 to date across eight events. She won Miami and Charleston, and so far in Rome, she hasn’t lost a set in beating Anna Blinkova (by retirement), Caroline Garcia, Irina-Camelia Begu and Azarenka.
Collins has credited her spring swing to hard work and creatively managing the health issues, including rheumatoid arthritis and endometriosis that had previously sidelined her for points in her career, and rejected the stereotype that she's playing with newfound freedom knowing her career will soon end.
"This has certainly been the biggest stretch of wins I've had in my career," she said, "and I do think that because I've been making those improvements, it's led to me playing some of the best tennis that I've played so far, which is super rewarding because you go through periods where you might take three steps forward, and you might take four steps back some weeks.
"It's kind of like the stock market. It's really up and down sometimes and it's not always inch by inch by inch going up. It's been nice, like to have a stretch where I've really been climbing because it's not always like that. I think you have to be really happy for yourself in these moments because it doesn't always work out that way."
But other intangibles are at work, too.
One of the the things Collins says she's enjoyed most about being one of the leaders of the current generation of American players is the bond they all share, and the stars and stripes have had a banner week at the Foro Italico. Coco Gauff is also in the semifinals -- in both singles and doubles -- and the all-American pair of Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk is also in the doubles semis. On the ATP side, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul made history as the first male U.S. duo to reach the quarterfinals at the Italian ATP Masters 1000 since Andy Roddick and James Blake in 2008.
- 'I'm going out with a bang': Collins storms into Rome semifinals
- Pick 'em: Making the case for the Rome semifinalists
- Sabalenka puts injury concerns aside to make second Rome semifinal
Collins says success breeds success, and it's no coincidence when U.S. players do well at a tournament en masse. Not only is the talent level so deep on Team USA, but the energy around the American collective is infectious.
"I was in the locker room a few days ago talking to a player from another country," Collins said. "They were talking about their experience, and they're playing for their country, how it can be stressful those weeks when everyone's together, and she wishes that she was part of Team USA because everyone is such a nice person and we have so much fun."
"All of the teams always talk about the camaraderie that we all share, and it's really special because we have such a big group of women and men, and I feel like all of us are really pulling for each other and so encouraging when things are going well, but also, there for each other when things aren't going well."
That bond extends to players outside of her generation -- namely, former World No.1 Roddick, who praised Collins' late-stage form when she was a guest on his podcast, "Served with Andy Roddick" this week, calling it "awesome" and drawing favorable comparisons to another former No.1, Andre Agassi.
"How are you going to pick against Danimal right now?" Roddick said, and the 2022 Australian Open finalist dubbed him the biggest "hype man" during her recent success.
But the 2003 US Open champion also impacted Collins earlier in her life, dating back to a moment that the 30-year-old happened when she was one of 100 kids attending a Tampa, Florida kids' tennis clinic when she was about "10 or 11 years old."
It's something that will stick with her even after she hangs up her racquet later this year.
Absolutely no notes 👏 pic.twitter.com/stMJIBzvzA
— Served with Andy Roddick (@Served_Podcast) May 14, 2024
"Andy Roddick was my favorite player, and I really wanted to get to play doubles with him at the clinic," Collins said. "So I charmed him and he said, 'OK, we'll do a drill, whoever wins three points against me gets to be my doubles partner.' I won the three points against him, so I got to be his doubles partner for the rest of the clinic."
Afterward, Collins was hopeful he'd stay in touch.
"He was so nice," Collins said. "He got his manager to write down my mom's email, and when I was winning tournaments for a few years, Andy and his manager would reach out and congratulate me. I was so pumped and obviously became Andy's biggest, biggest fan and clip out the articles of when he had the fastest serve, little heart-shaped ones and saying, 'Wow, Andy, 153 miles an hour, I love you!' So, what a full-circle moment."
