“I was having my boyfriend help me a lot; It was awful; There were a lot of tears” – Danielle Collins on physical struggles before Miami Open triumph

In the days leading up to the 2024 Miami Open, newly crowned champion Danielle Collins revealed the challenges she faced with injuries.

After declaring 2024 as her last season earlier this year, Collins defeated repeat finalist Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-3 at the WTA 1000 Miami Open on Saturday, March 30 to claim her biggest career title to date. During her post-match press conference, the Floridian was questioned about whether she considered herself a potential title contender prior to the tournament.

“Two weeks ago looked a little different,”she responded.

Just prior to her Sunshine Double campaign, Danielle Collins sustained a back injury during the quarterfinals of the ATX Open, resulting in her retirement from the match. This injury occurred just before her successful run in the Sunshine Double.

“I was coming off a back injury that happened in Austin. I was devastated not to be able to finish out that tournament,”Collins said.

Despite facing a setback, the American persevered and competed in Indian Wells. She ultimately lost in the second round to eventual champion Iga Swiatek, but still bravely shared the crushing behind-the-scenes details of her experience in the desert.

“I went to Indian Wells and had multiple days off in a row. I had a few days, not exaggerating, I literally couldn’t walk. I was having to have my boyfriend help me a lot. It was awful. There were a lot of tears about, oh, my gosh, I have played all these tournaments, I have worked so hard for this, and now we’re at Indian Wells and Miami and this is happening, like, why?”Danielle Collins recalled.

Danielle Collins Reflects on Overcoming Injury to Claim Victory at Miami Open

Danielle Collins mentioned that her early loss at Indian Wells gave her the opportunity to have some beneficial practices before the 2024 Miami Open. She additionally acknowledged that her physical therapy sessions greatly improved her condition.

“Luckily with I think the help of the physical therapy and chiropractor we were able to kind of get it under control and make some adjustments too with some of my training and recovery and got it to a place where it was more manageable. After Indian Wells I was able to get a couple good days of practice,”Danielle Collins said in the aforementioned press conference.

“I felt pretty confident, but it was still the amount of time that I was practicing on court and the type of drills that we were doing, I was, like, this is going to be hard, going into Miami,”she added.

Despite losing her first set against Bernarda Pera in the opening round of the Miami Open, the former World No. 7 bounced back and went on to win all of her next 14 sets, ultimately claiming the title. Following her comeback victory against Pera, she continued her winning streak by defeating Anastasia Potapova, Elina Avanesyan, Sorana Cirstea, Caroline Garcia, and Ekaterina Alexandrova, securing her spot in the final.

“When I came out in the first round, I had a tough match against Pera. I was happy to really get through that. But I also did a great job of putting all that fear of, oh, am I doing enough, am I not doing enough, am I too injured, am I too this, too that?”she said.

Collins emphasized that her biggest lesson was learning how to overcome the obstacles she faced during the Miami Open.

“I think what makes some of these players the best in the world is that they learn how to play around those things. That’s the thing that I have learned the most this tournament is, okay, it’s never going to be 100% and you’ve got to figure out a way to, even though you have those challenges, work through it and get through it.”