American tennis star Danielle Collins embraced her role as the villain during her matches at the Australian Open, mocking fans for helping to pay her prize money, blowing kisses to them, and even giving them a sassy slap of the backside on her way off the court.
Collins, during a second-round match against Australian Destanee Aiava, had to have left even some of the best WWE heels blushing a bit when they saw her hilarious antics. The crowd was heavily against her throughout. So when she had bested Aiava in three sets, Collins absolutely could not wait to jab them back.
She began by egging them on with a Hulk Hogan-esque ‘give it to me a little louder’ gesture, then blowing some kisses. As After shaking hands with her opponent, Collins then smacked her butt.
She wasn’t finished giving it to the crowd either.
“I was thinking during the match, I was like, ‘If I’m out here, I might as well take that big, fat paycheck,'” she chided. “We love a good, five-star vacation, so part of that check is going towards that. So thank you guys for that. Thank you for coming out and supporting us.”
American tennis star Danielle Collins slaps her butt and blows kisses at an Australian crowd, thanks them for paying her bills.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 18, 2025
Collins said she wanted to thank the "super drunk" fans for funding her next 5-star trip with her friends where they will be taking out a yacht.
"One… pic.twitter.com/WSywhJWwHA
Danielle Collins Got More Boos In Her Next Match
Despite our admiration for her villain cosplaying, Danielle Collins set herself up for failure. She was going to hear from that crowd again and wouldn’t get the last laugh unless she did the improbable and win the Australian Open.
She paid for it in her next match, enduring the relentless jeering and ultimately falling in straight sets to another American player, Madison Keys, in the third round.
The umpire repeatedly had to tell the crowd to settle down as they cheered her faults and misses.
Despite the loss, Collins still seemed to embrace the role of the bad guy.
“Like I said, I really do enjoy playing in these types of environments. It’s what you work so hard for your entire life as a kid. I embraced it,” she said.
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Tennis Legend Jim Courier Responds
Two-time Australian Open champion and tennis legend Jim Courier responded to the crowd booing and Collins’ handling of the friction.
The winner of six Grand Slams felt the boos in the third-round match had an effect this time.
“I was in the TV compound, not on the court, and I could hear the boos wafting out of the stadium. It was something to see,” Courier told Eurosport.
“I think she probably got a bit of joy from it in a way because she does kind of like the combat aspect of it. But I do think she came out of the gates a little slowly and maybe it did rattle her a bit.”
In a final jab after her exit, Danielle Collins pointed out that all those fans who hate her helped her grab sponsorship deals.
“I think that six different sponsorship opportunities came up in this tournament alone, that’s a great signal for me,” said Collins. “Obviously, like I said, every fan contributes to that. It’s been a real blessing.”
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