ROLAND GARROS

May 27, 2024

Danielle Collins

Press Conference

D. COLLINS/C. Dolehide

6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. A quick turnaround for you from last weekend to today. How did you feel on court?

DANIELLE COLLINS: I felt good. Obviously I have a lot of matches under my belt at this point, and I've played a ton of hours on the clay courts.

So, yeah, it's a good thing. I feel like our clay court season isn't super long, so to be able to have as many matches as I have had and to have a lot of wins on the clay gives me a lot of confidence going into this.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. My math isn't great, but I think you've won 23 out of 26. Have you ever been in that kind of zone, whether it was grade school, high school, college, you know, where you just felt that way?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I felt like in 2021 I was playing some really great tennis. When I made the Finals of the Australian Open, I was playing some great tennis. I just didn't get as much coverage. So I think it's been a little bit more -- there's been more attention because I'm retiring at the end of the year.

Q. Are you getting a lot of questions about rethinking your position? I was in Charleston when I heard that. Have you been hearing it around here too?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, yeah.

Q. Your answer is still the same?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yes.

Q. I was wondering, given all the circumstances and the context about your year last year, are you already able also to enjoy this journey, this final year given also you still have a lot of big goals ahead of you?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, a lot of big goals ahead of me, and definitely able to enjoy it. Of course, the days at the courts are long and sometimes tedious, but it's part of the sport, and I feel like I really agree with Andy Roddick.

I did a podcast with him a few weeks ago, and he said that when he retired, he didn't know if he was retiring from tennis or waiting around all day. I kind of agree with that because I feel like so many of the hours we spend at the courts, we're actually not always on the courts. A lot of it revolves around waiting, rain delays. So that's been interesting.

Over the last couple of weeks I've played last on many of the days, and we've had a lot of rain, which is out of our control, but we do do a lot of waiting around. So that's not always that much fun, but aside from that, I feel like I'm enjoying these last tournaments and really just taking it all in.

Q. Just to follow up on that, Danielle, is your confidence now higher than it ever was? I know you had that run to the Australian Open Final, but now when you step onto court, is it sort of at its peak at the moment?

DANIELLE COLLINS: I don't think so. I feel like there's been a lot of conversation around, Oh, you announced your retirement, so perhaps you're playing more free. I don't really know what that means as a 30-year-old woman who has a lot of freedom in her life. I really am confused by that.

But I feel like I've always had a good amount of confidence on the court. I feel like I've provided pretty boring conversation in the sense of like, you know, it's a lot of hard work and figuring things out and figuring out how to make little adjustments on your shots and improve little by little technically and tactically.

I feel like I just keep putting people to sleep with that, but really I think a lot of the success over the last couple of weeks and months is a product of things clicking because I have made those improvements.

I notice there's just not a lot of conversation around what those improvements really are, but yeah, I think it's just been a bit of a process. I think people forget sometimes too that I didn't turn pro until later in life. So I have really only been on tour for, I don't know, six or seven years, right? There's much younger people who have just as much experience as me, and it takes time.

I don't think a lot of people on tour kind of go into this and have really uber-successful careers. There are a few, of course, and especially some young ones that we're very well aware of, but it does take people time to be able to find their groove and find that success. It doesn't always just come like this (indicating).

Q. It's going to be Olga next. I took a look at your draw. Your first match in Europe this year was against her, and it was a crazy one. I think you were down by a set and a break and ended up third set breaker, so I wonder what your thoughts are on that match. Also, what are your thoughts on the way you're playing now that you've been in Europe for a while, been on the red clay for a while compared to what you were playing then.

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I think one of the biggest factors this week compared to that week is the altitude in Madrid. It's not drastic, but it does make a difference, and it does make a difference for many of the players. We all talk about that. We make adjustments within our game, with our rackets, with our stringing.

So very different conditions, different court speed. Yeah, I think it will be a totally different matchup this week. But, obviously, she's been playing some really great tennis and doing some great things out there and definitely pushed me and challenged me in the last match that we played.

So I'm definitely going to have to sit down, do my homework, and prepare for it at a high level because she knows how to play some really high-level tennis. So I'm expecting to play a good match against her.

Q. Just going back to Strasbourg playing Madison, somebody you've known for 20 years now, what was that like? How dangerous is she right now?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, Madison has been playing some phenomenal tennis. I think Madrid she either made semifinals --

Q. (Off microphone)

DANIELLE COLLINS: Then she made semis, quarters, and then finals. So, obviously, since she's been playing on the clay, she's been improving each week, which is really exciting to see for my friend.

I think Maddie is extremely dangerous and has the capability to keep excelling with her tennis and her career. Yeah, she's proved that over the years that she's one of the most dangerous players on tour. Yeah, I think we're all kind of very impressed with Maddie and have been for a long time.

Q. It seems like it's going to be one of those tournaments where there's going to be variable conditions. So today perfect example... cold, wet, a bit of rain, sun came out. Indoors at Chatrier the roof was closed. How do you rank your ability to adjust to the different conditions because especially on clay, they make such a huge difference.

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I think you're right. They really do make a big difference.

Last week in Strasbourg we had a lot of rain, and with a lot of the rain came cooler temperatures immediately after the rain and then lower, slower conditions and then in the finals we had a very sunny day that was, I think, suitable to both of our game styles and much different -- you know, higher bouncing, balls going faster through the court.

Then like today, raining, it got cooler. Then it was weird. It rained again. It got a little warmer. Some strange things happening with the weather.

But I think one of the things tennis players don't get a lot of credit for is how flexible and versatile you have to be to be able to play at the highest level because each week the conditions can vary so differently from the week before.

Like today, one hour was kind of -- I don't want to say drastically different, but it was pretty significantly different than an hour later with the temperature. So I think just being prepared and being aware of it. I do think there maybe are some players that aren't always keeping an eye on the conditions or really thinking about it, but it's an important factor to consider for anyone.

Q. I've listened to the podcast which you mentioned with Andy Roddick, which I find amazing what you were telling that you sometimes travel alone because sometimes I can imagine it's nice to be on your own figuring things out by yourself, but sometimes I think you also want to share your experience and getting some feedback about your tennis. How do you find the balance in that?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, I think I'm able to balance it because I don't do every single week on my own, and I've been lucky that I've had a lot of coaches over the years that have been able to support me at different times at the capacity that they're able to.

I think the biggest challenge is it's a huge ask. It doesn't matter how great of a tennis player you are or how successful you are. It is such a huge ask to ask someone to travel 35 weeks out of the year, to give up their family life. To do this full-time is very demanding.

While we do have a lot of fun, of course, on court, there are times that can be stagnant and maybe aren't as enjoyable, and it's hard for the coaches. It's really hard. To be able to find the right fit for that lengthy of a commitment has been one of the biggest challenges that I've faced because it's just a huge thing to ask someone to do, and it's a huge commitment on so many levels.

I've been lucky. Like I said, my good friend, Ben Maxwell, is a college coach where I'm from in St. Pete, Florida. So he accompanies me sometimes on the road a few weeks out of the year.

He, obviously, has the college schedule, so there's certain periods of time he just can't do it because he's got his full-time career there. Ryan Harrison has traveled with me a bit. Jared Jacobs as well has helped me out a lot.

I think the thing that I've found really helpful when you are working with different people is you get different perspectives, and then you can kind of pick and choose sometimes what works best for you. You are getting a lot of different -- and I think sometimes the information can actually be kind of similar, but then there will be some differences, and you can kind of figure out what works best for you, and you learn more by hearing those different voices.

So I've found that to be really helpful for me. I know some players like to have kind of the same consistent person for years and years, and that works well for them, but for me I like having a little bit of variety. I think it keeps things fun and interesting, and I think it allows everybody to kind of have a healthy balance between being on the road professionally and doing these tournaments week in and week out and then also having a normal life outside of this.

Q. Do you now have here in Paris somebody, a coach with you?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Ben is here this week, yes. Yeah, it's been nice having him. His college team is actually on a study abroad trip, so the team was there supporting. Yeah, it's really nice.

I get to see those kids evolving throughout their career and see them when they come in as freshmen and then some of them are seniors. Getting to travel and do this trip is really special, and then getting to have them support me too is really nice. Yeah, it's an exciting trip.

Q. Danielle, you have been kind of grinding at a very high level since Miami, and I was curious to know if that's something that has helped come along with experience the ability to kind of cross continents, go to different venues and still keep that mental focus that you are keeping every match, both mentally and physically. Is that something that you've been able to learn over time, or would you say you've always had that?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, it's something that I've learned over time, and to be very honest, I think initially when I first started on tour, the travel was really hard and difficult for me.

Of course, there were times that I enjoyed it and had fun and got to experience new cultures, but the week-to-week in hotels, and honestly a lot of times we don't really stay in super nice hotels. I was in a tournament a few weeks ago, and I was in a moldy room and moved hotels, like, four different times to try to get comfortable.

Those are the things that we don't always get to see behind the scenes, but there's challenges, of course, when you are traveling... flight delays, lost bags, all those headaches that everyone else gets to experience, but it's a little more stressful when you are traveling as a professional, and you need to kind of have all your ducks in a row.

I think those first couple of years on the road were challenging for me, and I didn't really always enjoy those weeks because I didn't understand what I needed to do to be comfortable.

So I think with experience I've gotten better at being, like, Okay, I need certain things to make sure that I am comfortable so that I can be in the best head place possible and feel my happiest when I travel.

It was really nice in Miami and Charleston being able to have family and friends there and also get to visit with them on the weekends and not feel like I was just in the tournament grind the whole time.

I have my dog there too. That was especially nice. It's a little bit harder traveling with your dog to different continents, so he is not here. But all of those things make a big difference.

I think, to answer your question, I really have had to spend -- I've had to make a concentrated effort on how to make the weeks on the road more enjoyable and more fun because being the home body and introvert I am, sometimes being in an environment where there's so many people, I like to be in my home and my comfy place, and the tennis doesn't really offer that (laughing).