Danielle Collins found herself in the Australian Open crowd’s bad books after reaching the third round.
The 31-year-old has never been afraid to express what she is thinking or feeling, and she clearly illustrated that in front of a hostile audience inside Kia Arena.
On Wednesday Danielle Collins took on Australia’s Destanee Aiava in round two in an exciting three-set encounter.
The vast majority of those in attendance were heavily backing their home player, and she certainly gave the tenth seed a tough test.
But Collins, who is no stranger to interacting with fans during her matches, did her best to antagonise them once the match had concluded.
Tennis fans react online to what Danielle Collins did as she was booed by the Australian Open crowd
Collins, who knew most fans were cheering for her opponent Aiava, blew a kiss in their direction after she took the first set.
The 24-year-old battled back to take the second set, but Collins’ experience prevailed and she went on to claim a 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-2 victory to reach the third round of the Australian Open.
She then proceeded to perform a post-match celebration which included putting her hands to her ears and blowing more kisses to the crowd, and screamed “how about that?”, as boos filled the arena.
While those inside the stadium did not like Collins’ reaction at all, there was fans watching online that welcomed her response.
One fan on social media platform X said: “Danielle Collins is something, love her personality, make tennis fun and unhinged again!
Another fan was in agreement as they said: “Love it. As an Aussie, I think this is the worst the crowd has ever been at the AO.
“Booing winners, cheering double faults, calling out during the service motion. Someone has to do something. Glad Danielle Collins gave it back.”
Another simply said: “I love Danielle Collins,” while another excited X user posted: “OMG as if I couldn’t love Danielle Collins anymore. Her reaction to winning her match tonight.”
Furthermore, fans want to see more of this bold and fiery behaviour from Collins. “Danielle Collins is hilarious. More of it!,” one user said.
Another compared what they saw from Collins like the villainous Hulk Hogan of the late 1990s in professional wrestling. “LOVE the sass from Danielle Collins post match – she basically went full @WWE Heel!,” they said.
What did Danielle Collins say to the Australian Open crowd after reaching the third round?
As the boos continued, Collins conducted her post-match interview during which she addressed the heated audience.
She proceeded to sarcastically thank the fans for coming to watch the match, before ending the interview by telling her she loved them, while sporting a wry smile.
“You know I was thinking during the match, ‘if I’m out here I might as well just take that big fat paycheck,’’ said Collins, who plays fellow American Madison Keys in round three.
“Coco [Vandeweghe] and I love a good five-star vacation so part of that paycheck is going to go towards that, so thank you guys thanks for coming out here and supporting us tonight.”
Before she walked off court, Collins did another interview where she spoke to ESPN and addressed the crowd. “It was a tough crowd and figured if I am going to be out here I better take home that bigger paycheck, so thanks for the paycheck Australia,” Collins said.
“She added: “I’m somebody who needs a bit of a fire under me and I feel like it just motivates me to do better. It’s a pretty amazing feeling because people that dislike or hate you, pay your bills. So it’s a really rewarding feeling to be out and it just feels like a really great day.”
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