American tennis player Danielle Collins responded to being booed during her third-round loss to fellow American Madison Keys at the Australian Open, saying, “you can’t please everybody.”
Collins, seeded 10th, was defeated 6-4, 6-4 by the 19th-seeded Keys. The crowd’s reactions stemmed from comments Collins made after her second-round win over Australian Destanee Aiva, where she thanked fans who had been heckling her, saying they were “paying my bills.”
The 31-year-old Collins faced boos as she entered and exited the court at the Rod Laver Arena on Saturday. However, she said she “embraced” the environment and expected the reaction. “That’s fine. I really do enjoy playing in these types of environments,” she added.
Danielle Collins stirred up controversy at Melbourne Park on Thursday when she joked that fans who heckled her were contributing to “the Danielle Collins fund” and that she would use her prize money for a trip to the Bahamas.
During her match against Madison Keys, Collins was met with cheers after her first double fault, and at the end of the first set, the chair umpire had to remind the crowd to respect both players. Despite this, Collins, who was also dealing with a knee injury and took a medical timeout, said it’s important to “bring some entertainment” to tennis.
Collins explained that she doesn’t let negativity affect her, saying, “I don’t have a big ego when it comes to this stuff, I don’t care what some guy sitting in his basement is writing about me. I’m just trying to enjoy my life and have fun.”
Reflecting on her evolution, Collins noted, “Earlier in my career I was more concerned about what people think and I was much more guarded about my personality. Maybe with age comes an attitude of being yourself and accepting who you are. I’m proud of myself, I’ve gotten to the point where I really don’t care anymore about what people who aren’t important to me think.”
Looking ahead, Collins confirmed she would be heading to the Bahamas and joked that many of her friends were asking if they would be invited on the yacht.