Danielle Collins discussed the contentious event involving her and Maria Sakkari that occurred during the Canadian Open. In the second round of the WTA 1000 competition, the American and her Greek opponent got into a heated altercation.
After Sakkari hit the ball into the audience in the second round of the competition, the two players clashed. When Sakkari’s first serve in the second set of the match was labeled a fault, she became frustrated and slammed the ball into the court, which then bounced off the floor and into the crowd.
Tense moment at WTA 1000 Montreal tonight between Sakkari and Collins.
I agree with Collins here–the officials need to be way stricter on players recklessly smacking the ball and throwing racquets into the stands.
Should be no looking the other way when that happens. pic.twitter.com/fpsA6MSnm2
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) August 10, 2023
Sakkari asserted that she did not hit anyone, and the American then urged the Greek to “shut her mouth.” That led to a dispute between the two players that lasted for a long time until play was resumed. Collins was not pleased with the Greek’s behavior and complained to the chair umpire about it.
Danielle recently opened up about the incident and claimed that she was villainized for standing up as Sakkari almost hit someone. “She almost hit someone, and I got villainised for standing up for them,” she said. As she faced backlash from fans for calling out Sakkari.
Danielle went on to confess that a couple of months ago, she wouldn’t have called out Sakkari for her behavior. However, her coach, Jared, helped her become her authentic and true self, which helped her stand up against Sakkari.
Danielle Collins lost to world no. 32 Belgian Elise Mertens
Collins lost to Mertens in the second round at Louis Armstrong Stadium, 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-1. The first set, which lasted just 37 minutes, was comfortably controlled by Collins, and she held her serve. But the opening six games of the second set, unfortunately, saw four service breaks.
Danielle Collins is in a battle with Elise Mertens in the second set! 😱 pic.twitter.com/ptvQM3K1dC
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 30, 2023
At 6-5 and 7-6 in the tiebreak, Mertens survived two match points before defeating Collins 9-7 on a long return. Finally, in the third set, Mertens defeated Collins three times until the American double-failed on the very last point and missed the opportunity to win the match. Collins was seen taking her frustration out of her racket in between the matches, almost breaking it.
Danielle Collins resisting the urge to obliterate her racquet against Elise Mertens
Every tennis player knows this feeling 😂 pic.twitter.com/uDAkStaiSV
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 30, 2023
However, together with her Ukrainian partner, Nadiia Kichenok, Danielle Collins exacted delicious retribution. And on Day 4, the match was won by Collins and Kichenok 6-4, 6-3 over Australian Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens.
Collins, ranked world no. 34 by the WTA, defeated the 2023 Wimbledon finalists with a devastating last forehand winner. In the end, it was a tale of chances taken and passed up; Collins-Kichenok successfully defended all four break points, while Hunter-Mertens only successfully defended two of their nine break chances.
Discussion about this post