Danielle Collins named her favourite place to play and she did not say the US Open.
The 30-year-old is playing in her home Grand Slam for the final time. This is because Collins is due to retire from tennis at the end of the season.
The 11th seed has one more chance to join tennis’ elite club of major winners and there are not many better places to try and achieve that than on home soil at the US Open.
But when asked when she enjoys playing most, Flushing Meadows was not part of Collins’ response.
Where does Danielle Collins enjoy playing tennis the most?
Danielle Collins tends to play the majority of her best tennis in the United States.
Three of her four career titles have come in the US, and these tournaments of Miami, Charleston and San Jose, are all played in hot and tropical climates.
But her lone Grand Slam final came at the Australian Open, where Collins enjoys playing more than anywhere else.
“I’ve always felt most at home in Australia for whatever reason, I feel most at home there. I just feel like the tennis culture there is such a healthy one. I feel like people just genuinely love the sport in a way that is really admirable,” Collins told the Tennis Insider Club podcast.
“I feel like it’s pretty unbiased, it’s just very much looking at the game for what it truly is versus just the game instead of the drama. Even when I played the finals of the Australian Open and played Ash Barty, it was an intense crowd of course because Ash was from Australia, but it was respectful and it was a really cool environment.
“I just have always really enjoyed playing there. I think the tropical weather too and those extreme hot conditions, I just love it. I’m thriving in that type of heat and I think that’s why I’ve had some of my best results in Australia and then in Miami.”
What is Danielle Collins’ Australian Open record?
Collins has made six appearances at the Australian Open and her best Grand Slam results have come at Melbourne Park.
On her main draw debut in 2019, Collins reached the semi-finals, defeating the second seed at the time and former champion Angelique Kerber 6-0, 6-2 along the way.
After two early losses in 2020 and 2021, Collins returned to the Australian Open in 2022 on a mission to claim a Grand Slam.
She came from a set down to win her third and fourth round match, and upset Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals.
But Ash Barty was one step too far as the World number one at the time claimed a 6-3, 7-6 win to become the first home player to win the Australian Open title since Chris O’Neil in 1978.
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