US tennis star Danielle Collins was booed by the Australian Open crowd on Saturday when she walked on court and also when she left following her defeat to compatriot Madison Keys.
It comes after Collins, 31, played the role of “pantomime villain” as she taunted the crowd during her second-round win on Thursday over home favourite Destanee Aiava.
Collins, who was runner-up at Melbourne Park in 2022, shrugged off the abuse she got from dissenters in the match against the 24-year-old local qualifier as she blew kisses to the crowd, cupped her hand to her ear and touched her bottom – in a signal to hecklers to kiss her backside.
After her victory on Thursday, Collins said in a message to hecklers – “bring it on”, as she said the money she was earning during the tennis tournament was “all going towards the Danielle Collins fund”.
“One of the greatest things about being a professional athlete is the people that don’t like you and the people that hate you, they actually pay your bills,” Collins said.
The player, whose Instagram handle is DanimalCollins, said the cash would go towards a luxury holiday for her and her friends.
“I can guarantee you that cheque is going to go towards our next five-star trip, hopefully to the Bahamas,” she said.
After her straight sets defeat to 29-year-old Keys on Saturday, losing 6-4 6-4, Collins said: “The biggest thing is that nobody got hurt. Maybe some feelings got hurt or things were taken personally, and they probably shouldn’t have been taken personally by the crowd.”
“I feel like people take life way too seriously sometimes. I think in our sport, it’s like somebody was telling me that the average age of people watching and the fans of tennis is, like, 65.
“We need to kind of bring some entertainment to the game. I think we can try to make jokes and laugh.
“I don’t have a big ego when it comes to this.”
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Collins postponed her retirement from tennis due to “fertility problems” from endometriosis at the end of last season and was the tournament’s 10th seed.
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She also said she had friends asking to join her for the Bahamas holiday and she revealed “six different sponsorship opportunities” which came up during the competition.
“That’s a great signal for me. Every fan contributes to that. It’s been a real blessing.”
Collins wins AU $290,000 (£147,000) for losing in the third round.
