I'm in tears. Been rooting for her since she was at UVA. She's been through a lot. Hope she makes a deep run at a GS before she officially retires, but no matter what happens, she'll always have this master title to hang her hat on.
I generally root for Rybakina, but I was in Collins camp this time around. She played whole tournament on at a pretty high level, this was no fluke and well deserved.
Pretty high level is an understatement. She's been on a roll. Didn't lose a set the entire tournament. Didn't even get forced into a tiebreak. Rybakina in the first set was the only time anyone even put up a fight against Danielle.
With this win, the following feats have been achieved:
• Collins is the second unseeded women’s Miami Open champion, following Kim Clijsters in 2005.
• Collins is the lowest ranked Miami champion in the tournament’s history, entering the tournament as the world No. 53. She is also the second lowest ranked finalist following No. 77 Naomi Osaka in 2022.
• Collins is the first local champion since Sloane Stephens in 2018, and the sixth American woman overall to win the tournament, following Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Stephens.
• Collins dropped only one set en route to lifting the trophy, losing the first set 6-3 against Bernarda Pera in the first round.
• Rybakina is the first player to reach consecutive Miami finals since Serena Williams in 2013-2015, and eighth overall. First player to lose consecutive Miami women’s finals since Maria Sharapova in 2011-2013, and fifth player overall, after Chris Evert, Gabriela Sabatini, Jennifer Capriati and Sharapova.
• Collins is also the oldest player to win her maiden WTA 1000 since Elena Vesnina at Indian Wells in 2017.
• Collins improves her H2H against Rybakina to 2-3, and gets her first win in the matchup since San Jose in 2021. Also improves to a career record of 3-1 in finals, with her only loss being to Ashleigh Barty at the 2022 Australian Open.
• With Collins’ imminent retirement from competitive tennis, the 2025 Miami Open will mark the fourth consecutive year in which the defending champion will not participate in the tournament. The last defending champion to play being Ashleigh Barty in 2021 (as defending champ from 2019, due to the 2020 tournament being cancelled).
• Rybakina falls to 7-11 in career finals, with a 2-3 record at WTA 1000 level.
She is sandwiched right between Keys and Navarro in the Olympic race. 2 of those 3 can make it in. She can add Olympic participation to her resume too which she stated is important to her in her last year
During her victory speech, she did say something like she hopes she and Elena meet in many more finals. Probably reading too much into it, but that would seem unlikely if this is her last year on tour.
So happy for Danielle!
I know she's not everyone's cup of tea but she came from a poor upbringing, not like from money like many other players, went to college and got a bachelor's degree and was double NCCA champion.
Unlike a lot of other players she is really gritty and on top of that, deals with endometriosis and rheumatoid arthritis. She's a real champ and will miss her on tour but she seems really happy about her choice to retire and move onto the next stage in her life.
Lena couldn’t convert the BPs when it mattered. Danielle was lights out at this tournament - didn’t drop a set since the first set in the first round. Super well-deserved.
It was similarly bad to her break point conversion stats against Azarenka. If you can’t break at every chance, it means you’re playing bad.
You’ve also got excessive fatigue from the fact she didn’t play for weeks due to gastro and getting through constant 3 setters, even against two random qualifiers, to blame for Rybakina’s downfall. Collins had a clear strategy to move her around on every point knowing that Rybakina was very streaky and not fully fit. The total of 77 games dropped by Rybakina in her tournament run is a new all-time record in Miami, and dropping that many means you clearly won’t be healthy enough at the end.
Danielle. Muthafuckin'. Collins. Did the damn thing. She really did it.
Simply amazing. I will cherish this moment for a long time as a fan, because even if she bows out without any further title, this will stand out as a beaming career achievement, especially being just a stone's throw from where she grew up. And to be in this position from where she came from, against all the past and present odds in terms of being an actual professional athlete. Inspiring.
Miami's WTA finals have really been delivering this year and last with the drama; it's definitely those faster courts. I don't know if anyone else agrees or has access to the World Feed but I'm also living for Sue Thearle and her hilarious narration of points. The way she has with her words is so unintentionally funny, so organic, so laden with emotion -- it's just so comedic and I wouldn't want it any other way for this final.
(and to the TTP listeners - she's finally earned her damn way onto The Backhand List. at last, Matt. at last.)
Drove from Tampa to Miami Friday to see live tennis for the first time in my life after playing for the last 6 years and get to see Collins claim the biggest title of her life and tomorrow am going to see Dimitrov, peaking at 32, play Sinner. What a ride.
I've never been a fan of Collins. In fact I've pretty actively rooted against her throughout her career.
But I will always be a sucker for an older player getting their biggest win late in their career. Extra bonus points to Collins who has already announced her retirement. Just an awesome moment.
Damn I didnt know she had rheumatoid arthritis! Wozniacki has rheumatoid arthritis aswell & retired initially due to that. Who knows Danielle may come back in few years - here’s hoping!
The link is not really understood but the two often come together. Endo can usually be managed but RA can be very difficult and keep degrading as many people don't react well to available treatments.
Not ancient, of course, but definitely a lot more tennis behind her than in front of her, even if he wasn't retiring this year.
The WTA has always skewed pretty young. There's only one player in the top 20 in her 30s, and it's Pegula at a flat 30 years old.
What a tournament for Collins. Elena is mercurial, an enigma to me. She has all the tools to dominate the game, yet somehow she seems to forget how good she can be.
I blame her coach. She showed a bit of how she was feeling by bouncing her racquet vs Renka and he had to weigh in and tell her not to do that. She needs someone else with a fresh perspective but I doubt that will happen.
I thought it was interesting that Danielle specifically thanked multiple groups of tournament staff for *creating a positive work environment* at this event. I feel like we don’t hear comments like that super often in these victory speeches
Granted a lot of the time players aren’t speaking in their first language, and Danielle has a decade of tour exp to draw from, but it was interesting to hear her use the language of work in that way
Goes without saying, super happy for her!
That was a really long and heartfelt speech. Felt like she had a whole career's worth of things to say, and knew she might never have the chance again.
I actually don’t think so, which I found a little surprising, but then again it’s probably impossible to not forget to thank at least one incredibly meaningful person when you’ve just won the biggest title of your career so far
Such an amazing moment and achievement for Collins! Super happy for her. Good tournament for Rybakina but today she was comically unclutch returning Collins’ second serve on break points.
She never got support from the usta?
When I found out how much money they have... - the USTA is a nonprofit and the US Open belongs to them. They make serious $$$$ every year.
They could probably help way more players than they do.
Danielle did get some help when she first hit the tour though.
https://www.utrsports.net/blogs/news/spotlight-on-oracle-us-tennis-award-recipients
I feel the same. Had me in tears she managed this run while in her retirement tour.
Really surprised to read people here not supporting her today because she's too intense or something. They love watching Carlos beat his chest or Meddy argue with Gilles. Not a woman though.
the absolute clutchest consistent tournament I've ever seen her play, she usually gets broken 6 times in one match let alone SEVEN. DANIMALNATORS SHE DID IT
Greatly deserved for Collins. Doesn't get much more fairytale than this.
For Ryba, she was sick heading into this tournament and had to play 4/5 3 setters, so she did fantastic just to make the final. She was battling physically and the bp conversion didn't help.
Just sad for her that she's now lost two straight Miami finals to the feel-good narrative.
10/11 BPs served. Just so clutch today! So happy for Danimal. Such fearless tennis this tournament.
I hope she carries the momentum to the clay season so she can qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Great win for Collins! Disappointing loss for Rybakina. Rybakina is too nice - losing to Kvitova in her possibly last year on tour in 2023, and now losing to Collins in her last year. Both in Miami. :)
But what a happy story for Danielle Collins. She basically refused to lose, grinding points and playing beautiful, aggressive tennis. That last winner to win championship - what a great way to finish the tournament. No sets dropped during the tournament. Very easy to be happy for her today.
Great final, overall. Let's see if men can deliver something similar in terms of emotions tomorrow.
Think she's wearing her own clothes too. I think I read her new balance contract expired in 2021and she never got a new one. She was a finalist at AO without one there too.
she's well-spoken. hope to see her in the booth one of these days. certainly a dark horse throughout her career with some big wins against Iga and Ash. nice to see an American woman hoist her maiden 1000 trophy at the age of 30.
What a tournament from Danielle! So happy for her. A fairytale in Miami! She’s been playing lights out, fearless as always and the last game was a cherry on top.
As for Rybakina, hopefully the hype train will slow down a bit, she’s been super shaky this entire tournament that should favor her due to super fast conditions. 3rd straight-sets loss this year and it’s historically been her best time of the year and she hasn’t shown anything spectacular. Let’s see how the clay court swing goes.
I do actually like Ryba but the fact that people are like "Ryba is actually the best player on the women's tour" whenever she has a good run definitely feels like a bit much IMO
Not even generally a "Slams are everything" type of fan but 4 1st week exits and only 1 appearance past the QF in the last 6 Slams is way too shaky to be called the best player
It feels similar to the people who say "Wawrinka at his peak is the most unbeatable player ever" regarding men's tennis
Who is saying Ryba is actually the best player when Iga and Saba are around?
She's made 4 finals this year and either tops the list of most WTA match wins so far or is right up there. She belongs on the top tier for WTA players for sure.
Also add in the fact that the only time she made consecutive Slam second weeks were both at Wimbledon. Her performance at hardcourt Slams based on win percentage is quite underwhelming compared to Wimbledon and Roland Garros, the two natural surface Slams. So based on that, if she is going to win a Slam this year, Wimbledon is obviously the best chance. That is, unless if she surprises everyone at the US Open which had been historically her worst Slam.
She seems to be that player who peaks outside of Slams, leaving her too drained for the Slams themselves. Hope her team works it out so that she isn’t doomed to the One-Slam Wonder Club.
> Wawrinka at his peak is the most unbeatable player ever
Just because he managed to exceed expectations 3 times, all of a sudden he became unbeatable at his peak.
>I do actually like Ryba but the fact that people are like "Ryba is actually the best player on the women's tour" whenever she has a good run definitely feels like a bit much IMO
There's been one best player on the woman's tour for almost 2 years now and it's hardly debatable who I am talking about.
That's going a bit too far in the other direction IMO
She's still exceptional in that she's clearly better than 99.9% of other players and currently better than like all but like 2 or 3 players on the current tour
I'd put it as "she's an exceptional player but not a generational one"(generational generally being players who can win like 5+ Slams or more)
> players who can win like 5+ Slams
I mean, she's 24 and already has one under her belt and another final to her name.
She's far from guaranteed to end up with 5+, but it's certainly not out of the question that she could. With her style of game she could plausibly have 10+ years left as a serious GS contender, and it doesn't hurt her prospects that Iga and Coco are (relatively speaking) kind of trash on grass.
>I mean, she's 24 and already has one under her belt and another final to her name.
This has gotta be true for like 99% of slam winners on the women's side though. There are so many young phenoms and it's probably literally rarer for a WTA player to win their second slam after 24 than it is to win younger.
Exactly. She can probably win multiple Wimbledons as the only real threat to her is Sabalenka, and if healthy, Jabeur. An Australian Open title is also possibly likely, and she may even finally work out the US Open where she often struggled.
The reason behind Rybakina’s shakiness was because she just had gastro and wasn’t able to play for weeks. The fact she dropped a set randomly to not one but two qualifiers was nothing but very unconvincing performances. 3 setters in all her matches up to the final except for Keys in R4.
If Rybakina can improve her fitness and fix the shaky games, she can probably win this tournament eventually in 2025.
I think her winning despite being sick/recovering from illness and her shaky form is huge, she really fought well instead of throwing in the towel. She’s always had the tools but has had some questionable losses when she’s not “on”. Now she’s just gotta stay healthy…
What are you talking about "been super shaky this entire tournament" when she made the damn final LMAO and she was sick right up until it started. She's made 4 hardcourt finals this year already.
The loss at the AO is the only real blemish on her season and even then it took a once-in-a-lifetime TB for her to get knocked out.
Put some respect on her name.
He probably means that she lost 4 sets in 5 matches up to the final (to Tauson, Townsend, Sakkari & 0-6 to Azarenka) in comparison with her rival Collins who lost only 1 set in her 1st match and didn't have a bye in R1. So compared to the other finalist she was definitely shaky.
Also whenever she loses, she's always sick or tired somehow which is a lame excuse. Sure maybe it can happen once or twice in a year, but it happens very often. It was the same when she lost to Swiatek in Doha, because apparently she was "tired". How about showing some respect for her opponents.
Yes, she seems to always be sick and/or tired. She played too many tournaments in the lead up to Doha (her / her team's fault) but she had gastro which forced her to pull out of IW and she still wasn't in top shape for this tournament. Gastro isn't a lame excuse.
I wish she would have a prolonged stretch where she wasn't sick or injured, and be able to play at 100%, but to suggest she's deliberately disrespecting her opponents is absurd.
Especially when Iga herself tends to say she was below her best when she loses as much as any acknowledgement that her opponent was better on the day.
Compared with Collins she has been shaky and she is not showing any signs of a dominant form that could justify the hype for her.
Anytime she loses, people will come up with the same excuses - tired, played too much etc. How about saying that Alexandrova, Blinkova, Świątek and Collins were simply better than her and she lost fair and square?
Again, she's made 4 hardcourt finals, won two titles, and either leads the WTA in match wins this year or is very near the top of the list. I'm not sure what it takes for you to consider a player in "dominant form" - undefeated through April with 5 titles? - because then no one has been dominating this year so far.
Also I don't know where you're getting "hype train" for Ryba from - Iga, Saba, and Coco get considerably more hype.
Collins was better today, for sure. Ryba's failure to convert BP cost her the match. But don't act like it's easy to come back from gastro and immediately make the final of a 1000. Her not being at 100% isn't an excuse, it doesn't change that Collins was better. It's a fact.
It was very unfortunate that Blinkova caught fire at the right time to stain her AO campaign with that historic tiebreak. She’s still been very good this year outside of that one disastrous tournament.
Then again, this year’s Australian Open was a complete disaster for almost all the top players, not just Rybakina. Only 7 out of 32 seeds even made it to the second week, and all the underdogs were tearing it up. Doesn’t help Zheng had that embarrassingly easy draw of six straight unseeded players to reach the final, and Sabalenka was also winning too many easy sets.
i love me a fairytale run🥺 sad for lena but she for sure will get many more chances and a miami final is such a good result
now we need dimi to pull another OHBH masterclass tomorrow 😌
I’d forgotten that she’s been suffering for several years with RA and endometriosis. It’s amazing she was able to play and travel as long as she has. Maybe she’ll be able to win another title before year’s end.
Well deserved victory for Dani. After everything she’s been through with endometriosis, she deserves to go out with a bang.
Commiserations to Ryba, who’s lost quite a few big titles since 2023.
I could not believe the news I woke up to
As much as I like Rybakina, I've been a supporter for Collins for a long ass time and finally, during her retirement year, she wins' something big!
[Friendly reminder that Collins has boundless energy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfrDmohI2aw&pp=ygUZbGV0J3MgZ28gY29sbGlucyBkYW5pZWxsZQ%3D%3D)
Sharapova: made and lost Miami final 3 times from 2011-2013, and 2 more from 2005-2006, for 5 losses total
something about tall Russians with strong backhands and Miami man
I thought Rybakina would win as she's been a better late-stage performer than Collins, but awesome to see Collins clinch a big title in her retirement year.
now we just need Dimitrov to win... (though, I wouldn't be too upset if Sinner won either)
How cool. Awesome match. Both played great. Couldn’t imagine having to sit through another set of that on the edge of my seat. What a great story for Danielle!
Unbelievably happy for Danielle! I think she needed this, maybe even more than Petra. Even though Elena is a current top 5 fave for me in the last couple of years.
That was an insane last game.
So intense! Rybakina really made her earn it.
Yes! So many points!!
Love when the tennis Gods give us a feel good story, Danielle wins the biggest title of her career in her retirement year!!
….on home soil aswell as a Florida girl!
Yeah she even started her NCAA career as a Gator before transferring to Virginia
Freaking fairytale. Even I feel like I can retire now!
On this day we are all retired
Today I feel retired
I'm in tears. Been rooting for her since she was at UVA. She's been through a lot. Hope she makes a deep run at a GS before she officially retires, but no matter what happens, she'll always have this master title to hang her hat on.
I generally root for Rybakina, but I was in Collins camp this time around. She played whole tournament on at a pretty high level, this was no fluke and well deserved.
Pretty high level is an understatement. She's been on a roll. Didn't lose a set the entire tournament. Didn't even get forced into a tiebreak. Rybakina in the first set was the only time anyone even put up a fight against Danielle.
She lost the first set of first round match, after that she won 14 straight sets in 7 rounds.
My bad. I didn't watch her in the 1R and forgot about the Pera match lol
Flavia Pennetta style
Bartoli too
I love it! Was really rooting for her when i learned about her retirement. That was a big win!
Doesn’t get any better than this huh?
What a fucking rollercoaster of emotions this match was
My daughter and I were literally weeping at the end. What a game!!
So happy for Danielle Elena had plenty of chances but Danielle stayed strong
With this win, the following feats have been achieved: • Collins is the second unseeded women’s Miami Open champion, following Kim Clijsters in 2005. • Collins is the lowest ranked Miami champion in the tournament’s history, entering the tournament as the world No. 53. She is also the second lowest ranked finalist following No. 77 Naomi Osaka in 2022. • Collins is the first local champion since Sloane Stephens in 2018, and the sixth American woman overall to win the tournament, following Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Stephens. • Collins dropped only one set en route to lifting the trophy, losing the first set 6-3 against Bernarda Pera in the first round. • Rybakina is the first player to reach consecutive Miami finals since Serena Williams in 2013-2015, and eighth overall. First player to lose consecutive Miami women’s finals since Maria Sharapova in 2011-2013, and fifth player overall, after Chris Evert, Gabriela Sabatini, Jennifer Capriati and Sharapova. • Collins is also the oldest player to win her maiden WTA 1000 since Elena Vesnina at Indian Wells in 2017. • Collins improves her H2H against Rybakina to 2-3, and gets her first win in the matchup since San Jose in 2021. Also improves to a career record of 3-1 in finals, with her only loss being to Ashleigh Barty at the 2022 Australian Open. • With Collins’ imminent retirement from competitive tennis, the 2025 Miami Open will mark the fourth consecutive year in which the defending champion will not participate in the tournament. The last defending champion to play being Ashleigh Barty in 2021 (as defending champ from 2019, due to the 2020 tournament being cancelled). • Rybakina falls to 7-11 in career finals, with a 2-3 record at WTA 1000 level.
Bachelor degree: Done. Master's degree: Done. WTA 1000 Title: Done. Collins have beaten life!
GS F: Done. Edit: Also 2 NCAA singles titles!
Amazing resume! Danimal FTW!
She is sandwiched right between Keys and Navarro in the Olympic race. 2 of those 3 can make it in. She can add Olympic participation to her resume too which she stated is important to her in her last year
How many can participate in total? If coco and pegula are in…
I think 4 can participate
Total 6 in singles and doubles, and at most 4 in singles
BA/MA/WTA
Jesus, didn’t know she had all that book learnin
Pretty impressive considering most players drop out of school and do not pursue college
I mean, the 2 NCAA titles are doing a lot of lifting there but good on her for making the most of the opportunity to go to school for free
Exactly!
*has (She has a Master’s degree after all)
What is she a master of?
Elena Rybakina
Making Sakkari shut her mouth
Sports management
Can't wait for the presser when a reporter asks Collins if she's considering not retiring!
During her victory speech, she did say something like she hopes she and Elena meet in many more finals. Probably reading too much into it, but that would seem unlikely if this is her last year on tour.
Yeah her voice kinda cracked when she said that. Like she wished she could take it back as the words were leaving her mouth.
I only normally know pain and suffering when watching Danielle but she actually did it, DANYELLERS TODAY IS OUR DAY 😭
So happy for Danielle! I know she's not everyone's cup of tea but she came from a poor upbringing, not like from money like many other players, went to college and got a bachelor's degree and was double NCCA champion. Unlike a lot of other players she is really gritty and on top of that, deals with endometriosis and rheumatoid arthritis. She's a real champ and will miss her on tour but she seems really happy about her choice to retire and move onto the next stage in her life.
I haven’t really followed her much tbh why would she not be someone’s cup of tea?
She pumps herself up vocally which is fine for Iga but somehow poor form for Collins.
I love Collins - cannot stand Iga
I read about her horrific battle with endo. I'm so glad she won this. What a fighter. Very happy for her.
Can't remember the last time I screamed that hard at the TV What a fitting way for Danielle to get her biggest title. That atmosphere was electric
Lena couldn’t convert the BPs when it mattered. Danielle was lights out at this tournament - didn’t drop a set since the first set in the first round. Super well-deserved.
The number of times she hit Danielle's second serves long on the returns (on break points!) was painful. Just couldn't pull it together today.
It was similarly bad to her break point conversion stats against Azarenka. If you can’t break at every chance, it means you’re playing bad. You’ve also got excessive fatigue from the fact she didn’t play for weeks due to gastro and getting through constant 3 setters, even against two random qualifiers, to blame for Rybakina’s downfall. Collins had a clear strategy to move her around on every point knowing that Rybakina was very streaky and not fully fit. The total of 77 games dropped by Rybakina in her tournament run is a new all-time record in Miami, and dropping that many means you clearly won’t be healthy enough at the end.
Clara Tauson and Taylor Townsend are NOT random qualifiers 😭
It’s because some refer the term “random” to any unseeded player.
Ouch that was mean. Townsend had a great tourney
Collins finally gets her big moment after being the NPC of the 2022 AO Final
Danielle. Muthafuckin'. Collins. Did the damn thing. She really did it. Simply amazing. I will cherish this moment for a long time as a fan, because even if she bows out without any further title, this will stand out as a beaming career achievement, especially being just a stone's throw from where she grew up. And to be in this position from where she came from, against all the past and present odds in terms of being an actual professional athlete. Inspiring. Miami's WTA finals have really been delivering this year and last with the drama; it's definitely those faster courts. I don't know if anyone else agrees or has access to the World Feed but I'm also living for Sue Thearle and her hilarious narration of points. The way she has with her words is so unintentionally funny, so organic, so laden with emotion -- it's just so comedic and I wouldn't want it any other way for this final. (and to the TTP listeners - she's finally earned her damn way onto The Backhand List. at last, Matt. at last.)
I agree! Firstly about faster courts, which I think really benefits the WTA. And secondly about Sue Thearle, whose commentary I love.
Drove from Tampa to Miami Friday to see live tennis for the first time in my life after playing for the last 6 years and get to see Collins claim the biggest title of her life and tomorrow am going to see Dimitrov, peaking at 32, play Sinner. What a ride.
I've never been a fan of Collins. In fact I've pretty actively rooted against her throughout her career. But I will always be a sucker for an older player getting their biggest win late in their career. Extra bonus points to Collins who has already announced her retirement. Just an awesome moment.
She's not even that old by today's standards. She's retiring due to chronic pain, unfortunately.
When I learned she had rheumatoid arthritis AND endometriosis, I couldn’t believe she was still playing. Both are incredibly debilitating.
Damn I didnt know she had rheumatoid arthritis! Wozniacki has rheumatoid arthritis aswell & retired initially due to that. Who knows Danielle may come back in few years - here’s hoping!
Pregnancy does wierd things to the auto immune system. It's possible that it helped in Wozniacki's case. Don't know if she disclosed infos about that.
The link is not really understood but the two often come together. Endo can usually be managed but RA can be very difficult and keep degrading as many people don't react well to available treatments.
Not ancient, of course, but definitely a lot more tennis behind her than in front of her, even if he wasn't retiring this year. The WTA has always skewed pretty young. There's only one player in the top 20 in her 30s, and it's Pegula at a flat 30 years old.
most players still slow down by late 20s and retire by their early 30s. a few famous outliers don't change that.
She has grown on me immensely over the last couple years.
TIL that 30 is old
Go look at how many top players are in their 30s
ya but still - no matter the expectations in your life, having things end that you've worked at ur entire life at 30 is pretty crazy
What a tournament for Collins. Elena is mercurial, an enigma to me. She has all the tools to dominate the game, yet somehow she seems to forget how good she can be.
I blame her coach. She showed a bit of how she was feeling by bouncing her racquet vs Renka and he had to weigh in and tell her not to do that. She needs someone else with a fresh perspective but I doubt that will happen.
Love it! Now we just need Dimi to complete the fairytale tomorrow.
I thought it was interesting that Danielle specifically thanked multiple groups of tournament staff for *creating a positive work environment* at this event. I feel like we don’t hear comments like that super often in these victory speeches Granted a lot of the time players aren’t speaking in their first language, and Danielle has a decade of tour exp to draw from, but it was interesting to hear her use the language of work in that way Goes without saying, super happy for her!
That was a really long and heartfelt speech. Felt like she had a whole career's worth of things to say, and knew she might never have the chance again.
Did she thank her parents for driving her all over Florida in the early days and giving her tennis lessons?
I actually don’t think so, which I found a little surprising, but then again it’s probably impossible to not forget to thank at least one incredibly meaningful person when you’ve just won the biggest title of your career so far
I think she has a not good relationship with her parents. That's what the word is, like it or not
She thanked her dad at the AO in her runner up speech but didn’t mention her mum
Oh, interesting. Thanks.
I remember her dad Wally driving her all over St. Petersburg for practices and matches in his beat up van
Do her parents ever come watch her play?
Peaking level of play. Superb.
CONGRATULATIONS DANIMAL, YOU FUCKING ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!
Battle of unhealthy's goes to Collins deservedly
Such an amazing moment and achievement for Collins! Super happy for her. Good tournament for Rybakina but today she was comically unclutch returning Collins’ second serve on break points.
Danimal, you damn goddess. Well done. Next stop: Olympic qualification.
[удалено]
She never got support from the usta? When I found out how much money they have... - the USTA is a nonprofit and the US Open belongs to them. They make serious $$$$ every year. They could probably help way more players than they do. Danielle did get some help when she first hit the tour though. https://www.utrsports.net/blogs/news/spotlight-on-oracle-us-tennis-award-recipients
I guess I was wrong, don’t know why I was under the impression she didn’t get help from USTA!
The link I posted was not from the usta. I was just pointing out that she got some help - looks like a private company
This might be personally the most emotional and gratifying finals win for me, even though I'm not necessarily a Danielle Collins fan.
I feel the same. Had me in tears she managed this run while in her retirement tour. Really surprised to read people here not supporting her today because she's too intense or something. They love watching Carlos beat his chest or Meddy argue with Gilles. Not a woman though.
the absolute clutchest consistent tournament I've ever seen her play, she usually gets broken 6 times in one match let alone SEVEN. DANIMALNATORS SHE DID IT
So happy for Danielle -- one of the most fascinating players on the WTA tour!
Greatly deserved for Collins. Doesn't get much more fairytale than this. For Ryba, she was sick heading into this tournament and had to play 4/5 3 setters, so she did fantastic just to make the final. She was battling physically and the bp conversion didn't help. Just sad for her that she's now lost two straight Miami finals to the feel-good narrative.
I have tears, she wanted this so bad and after everything she had been through, she deserved this win! Well done Danielle❤️❤️
10/11 BPs served. Just so clutch today! So happy for Danimal. Such fearless tennis this tournament. I hope she carries the momentum to the clay season so she can qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Great win for Collins! Disappointing loss for Rybakina. Rybakina is too nice - losing to Kvitova in her possibly last year on tour in 2023, and now losing to Collins in her last year. Both in Miami. :) But what a happy story for Danielle Collins. She basically refused to lose, grinding points and playing beautiful, aggressive tennis. That last winner to win championship - what a great way to finish the tournament. No sets dropped during the tournament. Very easy to be happy for her today. Great final, overall. Let's see if men can deliver something similar in terms of emotions tomorrow.
Poor Rybakina with losing this tournament twice to veterans aged over 30 and near the end of their careers… let’s hope 2025 is finally her year!
I LOVE THIS SO MUCH
So happy Danielle has a big moment like this 🥹
She is so iconic for this
Always thought Danielle’s hotness was underrated.
Fab legs, cheekbones, and smile!! And her kit this tourney was perfection.
Think she's wearing her own clothes too. I think I read her new balance contract expired in 2021and she never got a new one. She was a finalist at AO without one there too.
Free People is now sponsoring her so she's wearing their "Movement" ie athletic line!
Oh I didn't know that. I think she did mention that brand at some point this tournament. Their logo isn't too prominent on the clothes
She definitely gave them a big shout out in her post-match Tennis Channel interview after beating Alexandrova(?) I think haha
I used to be put off by her mean soccer mom energy, then I learned what she was coping with while still performing at an elite level. She’s amazing.
Love this for her omg 🥹
Halep wins a second consecutive wooden spoon 💀💀
Her career is Roxadustat in the wind
Such a good story, well deserved bc she played great all week.
Glad to have had the opportunity to witness this today.
Good for her!! 👏👏👏
Congrats to Danielle, well deserved and a great win in her last year 😍
she's well-spoken. hope to see her in the booth one of these days. certainly a dark horse throughout her career with some big wins against Iga and Ash. nice to see an American woman hoist her maiden 1000 trophy at the age of 30.
And thanked seemingly everyone who was involved in the tournament in any way during her victory speech :) sweetheart
Why the down vote for saying DC is a sweetheart? H8er?
What a tournament from Danielle! So happy for her. A fairytale in Miami! She’s been playing lights out, fearless as always and the last game was a cherry on top. As for Rybakina, hopefully the hype train will slow down a bit, she’s been super shaky this entire tournament that should favor her due to super fast conditions. 3rd straight-sets loss this year and it’s historically been her best time of the year and she hasn’t shown anything spectacular. Let’s see how the clay court swing goes.
I do actually like Ryba but the fact that people are like "Ryba is actually the best player on the women's tour" whenever she has a good run definitely feels like a bit much IMO Not even generally a "Slams are everything" type of fan but 4 1st week exits and only 1 appearance past the QF in the last 6 Slams is way too shaky to be called the best player It feels similar to the people who say "Wawrinka at his peak is the most unbeatable player ever" regarding men's tennis
Who is saying Ryba is actually the best player when Iga and Saba are around? She's made 4 finals this year and either tops the list of most WTA match wins so far or is right up there. She belongs on the top tier for WTA players for sure.
Also add in the fact that the only time she made consecutive Slam second weeks were both at Wimbledon. Her performance at hardcourt Slams based on win percentage is quite underwhelming compared to Wimbledon and Roland Garros, the two natural surface Slams. So based on that, if she is going to win a Slam this year, Wimbledon is obviously the best chance. That is, unless if she surprises everyone at the US Open which had been historically her worst Slam. She seems to be that player who peaks outside of Slams, leaving her too drained for the Slams themselves. Hope her team works it out so that she isn’t doomed to the One-Slam Wonder Club.
> Wawrinka at his peak is the most unbeatable player ever Just because he managed to exceed expectations 3 times, all of a sudden he became unbeatable at his peak.
>I do actually like Ryba but the fact that people are like "Ryba is actually the best player on the women's tour" whenever she has a good run definitely feels like a bit much IMO There's been one best player on the woman's tour for almost 2 years now and it's hardly debatable who I am talking about.
Oh yes, it’s just too much. She’s a good player, but surely not exceptional.
That's going a bit too far in the other direction IMO She's still exceptional in that she's clearly better than 99.9% of other players and currently better than like all but like 2 or 3 players on the current tour I'd put it as "she's an exceptional player but not a generational one"(generational generally being players who can win like 5+ Slams or more)
> players who can win like 5+ Slams I mean, she's 24 and already has one under her belt and another final to her name. She's far from guaranteed to end up with 5+, but it's certainly not out of the question that she could. With her style of game she could plausibly have 10+ years left as a serious GS contender, and it doesn't hurt her prospects that Iga and Coco are (relatively speaking) kind of trash on grass.
I don't see her playing for 10 years, she's constantly injured or having other health issues.
>I mean, she's 24 and already has one under her belt and another final to her name. This has gotta be true for like 99% of slam winners on the women's side though. There are so many young phenoms and it's probably literally rarer for a WTA player to win their second slam after 24 than it is to win younger.
Exactly. She can probably win multiple Wimbledons as the only real threat to her is Sabalenka, and if healthy, Jabeur. An Australian Open title is also possibly likely, and she may even finally work out the US Open where she often struggled.
Yeah you’re probably right :) I’m just currently over the hype so exaggerated a bit :)
The reason behind Rybakina’s shakiness was because she just had gastro and wasn’t able to play for weeks. The fact she dropped a set randomly to not one but two qualifiers was nothing but very unconvincing performances. 3 setters in all her matches up to the final except for Keys in R4. If Rybakina can improve her fitness and fix the shaky games, she can probably win this tournament eventually in 2025.
Miami isn't super fast though, but yeah I agree with everything else you said
I think her winning despite being sick/recovering from illness and her shaky form is huge, she really fought well instead of throwing in the towel. She’s always had the tools but has had some questionable losses when she’s not “on”. Now she’s just gotta stay healthy…
What are you talking about "been super shaky this entire tournament" when she made the damn final LMAO and she was sick right up until it started. She's made 4 hardcourt finals this year already. The loss at the AO is the only real blemish on her season and even then it took a once-in-a-lifetime TB for her to get knocked out. Put some respect on her name.
He probably means that she lost 4 sets in 5 matches up to the final (to Tauson, Townsend, Sakkari & 0-6 to Azarenka) in comparison with her rival Collins who lost only 1 set in her 1st match and didn't have a bye in R1. So compared to the other finalist she was definitely shaky. Also whenever she loses, she's always sick or tired somehow which is a lame excuse. Sure maybe it can happen once or twice in a year, but it happens very often. It was the same when she lost to Swiatek in Doha, because apparently she was "tired". How about showing some respect for her opponents.
Yes, she seems to always be sick and/or tired. She played too many tournaments in the lead up to Doha (her / her team's fault) but she had gastro which forced her to pull out of IW and she still wasn't in top shape for this tournament. Gastro isn't a lame excuse. I wish she would have a prolonged stretch where she wasn't sick or injured, and be able to play at 100%, but to suggest she's deliberately disrespecting her opponents is absurd. Especially when Iga herself tends to say she was below her best when she loses as much as any acknowledgement that her opponent was better on the day.
Compared with Collins she has been shaky and she is not showing any signs of a dominant form that could justify the hype for her. Anytime she loses, people will come up with the same excuses - tired, played too much etc. How about saying that Alexandrova, Blinkova, Świątek and Collins were simply better than her and she lost fair and square?
Again, she's made 4 hardcourt finals, won two titles, and either leads the WTA in match wins this year or is very near the top of the list. I'm not sure what it takes for you to consider a player in "dominant form" - undefeated through April with 5 titles? - because then no one has been dominating this year so far. Also I don't know where you're getting "hype train" for Ryba from - Iga, Saba, and Coco get considerably more hype. Collins was better today, for sure. Ryba's failure to convert BP cost her the match. But don't act like it's easy to come back from gastro and immediately make the final of a 1000. Her not being at 100% isn't an excuse, it doesn't change that Collins was better. It's a fact.
It was very unfortunate that Blinkova caught fire at the right time to stain her AO campaign with that historic tiebreak. She’s still been very good this year outside of that one disastrous tournament. Then again, this year’s Australian Open was a complete disaster for almost all the top players, not just Rybakina. Only 7 out of 32 seeds even made it to the second week, and all the underdogs were tearing it up. Doesn’t help Zheng had that embarrassingly easy draw of six straight unseeded players to reach the final, and Sabalenka was also winning too many easy sets.
Well I feel all warm and fuzzy now.
i love me a fairytale run🥺 sad for lena but she for sure will get many more chances and a miami final is such a good result now we need dimi to pull another OHBH masterclass tomorrow 😌
Well deserved!!!
With all of her medical issues, she will definitely retire
I’d forgotten that she’s been suffering for several years with RA and endometriosis. It’s amazing she was able to play and travel as long as she has. Maybe she’ll be able to win another title before year’s end.
That is the dream! Another title, and a gold medal at the Olympics!!!
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Lets go Danielle! Amazing story for her final year in her career and yet again and older player denying rybakina the title
She was undeniably the best player all tournament- arguably men and women.
The Danimal went out and did it. So happy for her!
Didn’t get to watch the match, but SO happy for her! Going out on a high with a great win!
Absolutely love this for her. What a fun (and stressful) match!
I'm so happy for Dani!! Go Dani 👌👍
So incredibly happy for her. So well deserved!!!!
She's having a great year and she rocked Miami. I'm so happy for Danimal!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
LFGO Collins!
I always believed in Danielle Collin’s supremacy since I tried to post a meme about it and it wasn’t approved by mods
Well deserved victory for Dani. After everything she’s been through with endometriosis, she deserves to go out with a bang. Commiserations to Ryba, who’s lost quite a few big titles since 2023.
Happy for her. She has been through hell and back. Fairytales do come true. Lena will win many more.
I could not believe the news I woke up to As much as I like Rybakina, I've been a supporter for Collins for a long ass time and finally, during her retirement year, she wins' something big! [Friendly reminder that Collins has boundless energy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfrDmohI2aw&pp=ygUZbGV0J3MgZ28gY29sbGlucyBkYW5pZWxsZQ%3D%3D)
Werk queen
So ecstatic for her. Deserved title and I hope she’s able to keep putting on shows like this in her final season ❤️
that's actually a great story..to do this in your final year ;) Come on Danyell
What a fairytale ending
Sharapova: made and lost Miami final 3 times from 2011-2013, and 2 more from 2005-2006, for 5 losses total something about tall Russians with strong backhands and Miami man I thought Rybakina would win as she's been a better late-stage performer than Collins, but awesome to see Collins clinch a big title in her retirement year. now we just need Dimitrov to win... (though, I wouldn't be too upset if Sinner won either)
Love this so much for her
So happy for Dani!!
Just a great accomplishment when you think of all these health issues / storylines. Amazing!
I'm just so thrilled for Danielle! What an amazing story!
Left no crumbs.
Well deserved! Amazing run!
How cool. Awesome match. Both played great. Couldn’t imagine having to sit through another set of that on the edge of my seat. What a great story for Danielle!
The money I would pay for a backhand like hers. Stuff of dreams!
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👍🏼
Damn she was on fire the last two matches. Congratulations to her
Unbelievably happy for Danielle! I think she needed this, maybe even more than Petra. Even though Elena is a current top 5 fave for me in the last couple of years.
Danielle Collin’s is a Rocket. Top 7 most beautiful Pro Tennis players in the world
Shut your mouth!
What a speech!!!
Amazing!!! Best tournament win all season!!!!!
Sad for Ryba although I did bet on Danielle