Why is Danielle Collins retiring at the end of the year?

Danielle Collins has announced her retirement at the end of the year. However, before that, she is set to play in the first final of the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami - a career first for her. Despite her retirement announcement, she’s determined to give her best performance and stick to her decision made earlier this season.

“I’m living with a chronic inflammatory disease that affects your ability to get pregnant,” said Collins, who revealed in 2019 that she had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

Five years ago, doctors diagnosed her with a disease. She has recently announced that she will retire from tennis at the end of the season, citing personal reasons as her motivation. She explained that there are more important things in her life than tennis, even though she enjoys the sport and has a lot of fun playing it.

She won her semi-final match against Ekaterina Alexandrova with a score of 6:3 and 6:2, who previously eliminated Iga Świątek and Jessica Pegula, the world’s first and fifth female tennis players, respectively. She will face Elena Rybakina in the final match, whom she defeated in the first match but lost to in the next three.

This is her first final in this type of competition, and it’s especially meaningful because it’s in her homeland. She is thrilled about this achievement and what it means for her career. Despite being only 30 years old, she hasn’t spent much time on the Tour and believes it takes time to gain experience. Nevertheless, she is confident in her abilities against Rybakina.

Although she never competed for the championship trophy at the WTA1000 tournament, she did compete at the Grand Slam tournaments. Two years ago, at the Australian Open, she was defeated by the then-best tennis player in the world, Ashley Barty. Currently, she is ranked 53rd in the world, and her highest ranking was seventh position.

Collins is the second lowest-ranked tennis player in the Miami final, which has been played since 1985. The record for the lowest-ranked player in the final is held by Naomi Osaka, who was ranked 77th when she lost to Iga Świątek in 2022. The winner of the Miami tournament will receive $1,100,000 and 1,000 points, while the runner-up will receive $585,000 and 650 WTA list points.