THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 6, 2024

Danielle Collins

Press Conference

D. COLLINS/B. Haddad-Maia

6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: How are you feeling out there today?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, feeling good. It was a rewarding day for me. I've played many matches that have been stop-and-go throughout my career, and oftentimes I have not pulled out the wins in those situations. So learning how to get through those moments.

It was really rewarding because I came out and came up with some great stuff in moments where I was down by a lot. Being down 4-0 in the first set against Bea is not easy to come back against her.

Then lost some momentum there at 3-0 up in the second when she started playing some really great tennis and got it to 3-All, and then we stopped again and had to regroup.

Yeah, rewarding day to get through it.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You mentioned the stop-and-go struggles, the sort of cool weather and the stop-and-go. How were you able to manage that physically because I know it was some of the stuff you battle that can be...

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah. I felt like I did a good job of keeping my body warm, being prepared to go on really at any time because when we would look at the radar, sometimes it would only be 15 minutes worth of rain, and sometimes it ended up going much longer than that.

Just staying physically and mentally primed. It's hard to maintain when you're doing so for so many hours. It was probably about a 12-hour day all together at least.

We, yeah, had the match in front of us too, and they had stopped a few times because of the rain. So some back-and-forth in that match too. Sometimes I thought I may be getting close to going on, and then you know...

So, yeah, I think it's helped having Ryan helping me stay focused and getting me fired up. He definitely brought some motivation after I went down 4-0 and had a chat with me and cranked out, fired out some serves at me between when I was 4-0 down when we had the break. So he went on court with me and blasted some 140-mile-an-hour serves.

When he does that, it makes everything seem like you're hitting beach balls after, so I think that was incredibly helpful.

Q. Were you getting physical treatments? Were you getting massages or anything like that in between?

DANIELLE COLLINS: No.

Q. You didn't need that?

DANIELLE COLLINS: No. Sometimes I think the treatment can be super helpful. I am someone that I'm in the physio room overtime at this point with all the ailments and things that have come up throughout my career. I'm really on top of that.

Usually before I go on for a match it's more just staying ready with your footwork and being prepared with your hand-eye coordination and also thinking about strategy.

So as much as I love to get a massage and love to relax, I feel like I would go out on the court and maybe be a little too relaxed.

Q. How did this all come about? You keep referencing Ryan.

DANIELLE COLLINS: Ryan and I have known each other since we were teenagers. Ryan's father has worked with me since I was 15 years old. We all pretty much grew up together and are family at this point.

Ryan was at some tournaments last year with me, and he is a hot commodity sometimes and was not available in the beginning of the year, unfortunately. But we're always in touch, and he's always watching matches, and his dad and brother too. When I'm home, I train a lot with his dad.

Yeah, it's nice that Ryan wrapped up with his career at the end of last year. We played mix doubles at the US Open, and he has made himself available to work with me. It's been amazing because it's hard to always find someone that's a super high level coach, super high level hitting partner and also someone who knows you really well, and you can enjoy time away from the courts. I think it's really important.

Yeah, I certainly couldn't practice against anyone better than Ryan. He had a very successful career on tour. Yeah, it's a blessing to be able to have him on the road.

Q. Then my last question is, you've gone deep in slams before obviously. At what point does your mind start going towards the end of the tournament? If not, how do you stop yourself from dreaming or I know the whole one match at a time thing, but I also know how the brain works and we're all human, and we all know why everybody is here?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Right.

Q. I'm curious, you're in the second week. Is it, like, okay, game on? Not that it wasn't game on today or...

DANIELLE COLLINS: I've gone far in other slams, but I haven't gone far here. So right now I'm really excited about having some more success here. It's a goal of mine to be able to play on Centre Court in a singles match at some point. I have yet to do that in my career. So I am just trying to ride this thing out until I can play on Centre Court.

Yeah, like you said, I think the brain can obviously think far in the future, and you have goals being a high achiever. And being an elite athlete, you're naturally driven and working towards that end result. But I think that's where so many of the highest level athletes have gotten so good at working on their mental focus to be able to really compartmentalize.

You obviously think about those things, but if you want to get to that, there are so many things that need to happen before. I hope that answers your question.

I think we've all just spent a lot of time working to not have that as the center focus and to be very process-oriented. I've gathered that from the other athletes that I've gotten to know well over the years and a lot of my friends in the locker room.

We all go through and experience similar things. It seems like from my perspective, and I know a lot of these women very well, I think we're all very good at just being process-oriented and focusing on that rather than the trophy.

Q. Do you know who you play next?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yes, yeah. We had a good match I think at the end -- maybe it was at the end of last year. She's played some great tennis and obviously has had a ton of success on tour. I've got a great person to prepare for getting ready for that match, so...

Q. You have come to the end of your career. You haven't done as well in Wimbledon as some of the other slams. But in general, how does this tournament feel to you compared to the atmosphere, the fans, et cetera? How does Wimbledon compare to the others you've been in?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, incredible atmosphere on the courts that I've played on here over the years and the energy that's been brought. I mean, today was a primetime example. We had a lot of people on both sides and cheering us on and bringing a lot of great energy.

I think it's really special. I think because of the history of Wimbledon and the historical preservation and the way people prepare for this event all year - not just players, but the fans - I think it's a really special experience for the people that come out here to watch the tennis. Yeah, I think they make it really special for us.

The tournament is already so special for us, but I think it's nice playing in front of crowds that are really respectful and respect the game and also are just happy to see good tennis. That's always a good feeling.

I think crowds can be different in different places, but here I feel like we always have a really great turnout of wonderful people, which is nice.

Q. You mentioned you haven't played on Centre Court. I don't know if you've got a bucket list of retirement things you want to achieve. Is that one of them? Is it top of them?

DANIELLE COLLINS: Yeah, that's a huge bucket lister for me to be able to play on Centre Court in my singles. I've played on Centre Court before in doubles during my semifinal match here with my friend, Des, who I'm playing Olympics with this year. That was one of my most cherished memories on court being able to play on Centre Court.

You watch so much tennis as a kid and see all of these people that you look up to and idolize playing. And when you get to come here as an adult, it's such a surreal experience. It's been such an honor to be able to get to have that experience, but it would be really cool to be able to play singles on that court as well.

Yeah, I think a few different bucket list items for me. Playing Olympics was one of them. I haven't played on the Olympic team before, and to get to do so with so many women that I have known for so long, it's been so fun getting ready and putting together little surprise gifts and the things we want to do when we're there and getting to go to the village together.

I was talking with Emma Navarro about how we're going to go around and collect the little pins. That's a huge bucket lister for me.

Another bucket list item would be also making second week at US Open. I haven't done that yet, so that would be amazing. My home slam. So yeah, those are a few.