Danielle Collins, who previously announced that she was retiring from the WTA Tour at the end of the 2024 season, changed course Thursday and stated that she would return to action next year.
Collins, a 30-year-old Floridian who is ranked No. 9 in the world, continues to deal with endometriosis, a uterine disorder. Still, she wrote on Instagram that “the DANIMAL story has not reached its conclusion.”
She wrote, “While I was very excited and eager to wrap up my tennis career on a high note this year and jump headfirst into my next chapter of life, things have not gone as planned.
“In addition to managing some lingering health challenges the past few months, I’ve recently been seeing a handful of specialists to better understand what my best path forward is to achieve my ultimate dream, starting a family.
“Dealing with endometriosis and fertility is a massive challenge for many women and something that I am actively traversing, but I am fully confident in the team I am working with. It is just going to take longer than I thought.”
Collins announced her return on the same day her name appeared on the entry list for the United Cup, which opens the 2025 season in Australia.
This year, Collins won consecutive tournaments in Miami and Charleston, S.C., in March and April, then got to the final in Strasbourg, France, in May. She failed to get past the fourth round in a major this year, though she reached the quarterfinals of the Olympics while playing for Team USA in Paris.
Collins’ two best Grand Slam results came at the Australian Open, where she reached the final in 2022 and the semifinals in 2019. The only other time she advanced past the fourth round in a major was a quarterfinal appearance at the 2020 French Open.
–Field Level Media
