Collins: "I still have many more goals to achieve"

Danielle Collins leaves Melbourne, following the 2022 Australian Open, with plenty of great news to absorb and savor. Very few expected before the tournament that the tennis player from Florida would reach the top-10 at the conclusion of it, and much less that she would participate in a final disputed and fought against her, neither more nor less than the number one in the world. Today Collins could not do anything against Ashleigh Barty, but he accepted it at a press conference in which he confessed that he has experienced physical problems throughout the week and in which he confessed that he has hardly been aware of what has happened in the outside world, isolating themselves and creating a bubble to be able to be on the track to the maximum.

Sensations right now

"Of course it's not the result I wanted, but I did my best. I did everything I could. I reached my limit and I was able to give myself a chance at the end. Unfortunately the final didn't go my way, but I did. I gave my all and that's all you can do, after all. It's been a great tournament for me, where I've reached new heights, where I've learned a lot. I still have room for improvement in some areas. Today I faced a great competitor and it was a nice match".

He has reached a Grand Slam final without a permanent coach in Australia

"In a way, I'm having to train myself. I think I played the final with the right game plan today. Again, I did everything I could, but unfortunately some things didn't work for me. Technically it's It's hard to be able to do all these things if you're not in the best physical condition. Today, my body didn't always agree with me, I kind of had a bit of a fight with it, something you can expect if you go far in a tournament like that. I think My overall assessment today is pretty good, there are areas of my game where I need to improve, but I can walk away proud, knowing that I don't have a coach and that I'm doing this for myself.

There are many top players who have a complete team, a team that does "their homework". It hasn't been the way my career has developed, I haven't worked with a coach consistently for several months, so I've had to do a lot of that "homework" on my own, with a lot of scouting and hard work. technical. It has not been easy, it is an absolute challenge and it takes a toll on a mental level, but I just try to continue with the process, do my best. Plus, I'm learning a lot along the way. Today Ash, himself, taught me a lot of things on the track."

Did playing with a nearly full crowd against you affect anything?

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"It's not easy to go out there and face someone in what is practically their home, on their ground, in a Grand Slam final, but this is what we live in sport, right? These are incredible moments that you don't live too often. For me it was an honor to go out on court. I tried to savor every moment, I tried to make the crowd come up with me too. I did everything I could to be 100% involved in the game. Even despite that the crowd was clearly supporting Ash, I felt like I had a lot of support, which was great for me, being in that situation. It was a great battle."

Opinion on Barty's level and tournament

"I think it's pretty clear where he must be looking at his ranking and success over the last few years. World number one, right? He's playing amazing tennis. He pushed me to the limit, I did I did my best and came up a bit short, but I was able to give myself a chance. Physically it wasn't a much better day, and that's something I've had to deal with all tournament, so I'm looking forward to facing her when I'm at the 100%"

From now on you will be top-10 and receive more media attention, how would you like to use that attention?

"I guess that's something we'll find out soon enough. I think one of the things that's most important to me is women's health, especially after the road I've been through with endometriosis and rheumatoid arthritis. I would like to be able to continue telling my story, to be a friend to all those who are suffering, that will be my top priority, to be able to help young women as much as possible, especially girls, I was in their situation and I would like to being some kind of guide for all the girls, that's going to be very important to me too. That's something I do quite a bit at home, several times a week. I do it from the heart and it means a lot to me, some of the friendships I've made Engaged with these girls have had a huge impact on my life and have helped me in the most important moments. But yes, there are many things that I would like to do. I am a very dynamic person and I believe that people will learn many things from me I hope good and fun things."

She will also have to handle the fact that she is the best American, according to the ranking

"I think it's something that I still haven't fully assimilated. I had been wanting to be top-10 for a long time, it was one of my goals last year, I came close. Being able to achieve it so quickly this year means a lot to me. I must go day by day, continue working to achieve my goals. There are still things that I would like to achieve. I have received a lot of support from other players, it is something that I really like in our sport, the camaraderie that exists between us in each tournament and the friendships you can make. For an individual sport in which competitiveness is maximum, some of the friendships we share are incredible. I haven't been on social media much, I've isolated myself, I've barely looked at the messages because I've focused on the 100% in everything I've been doing. It's been a tournament full of emotions that it's hard to assimilate and absorb, so we'll see what happens later, from now on, on the subject of sponsorships and so on, on the subject of a potential agent. I'm looking forward to seeing what new opportunities open up."