Italian Open giant-killer Danielle Collins gets real about what her parents sacrificed to fund her 'unconventional' tennis career

Danielle Collins scored an upset victory against three-time Italian Open champion Iga Swiatek in dominant fashion in Rome on Saturday (May 9). During her post-match on-court interview afterward, the American attributed her parents' financial support to her successful career while talking about her "unconventional route" to the highest echelon of women's tennis.

Collins had endured a tough season on the WTA Tour before arriving at Foro Italico. The 31-year-old dropped five of her first 12 tour-level outings and also missed the recently concluded Madrid Open, which led to her falling outside the women's top 30 rankings last week.

The above setback, however, didn't deter her from playing some of her best tennis to down World No. 2 Iga Swiatek 6-1, 7-5 in the third round of the 2025 Italian Open on Saturday. The World No. 35 broke her higher-ranked opponent's serve six times en route to the victory.

During her post-match speech, the interviewer asked her about the role that tennis played in her life. In response, Danielle Collins opened up about her initial struggles before turning pro. She also disclosed that her parents worked endlessly hard to facilitate her college tennis career, and that her own "perseverance" ultimately molded her values.

"I think it shaped me so much. Coming from a pretty humble beginning, it's hard getting into tennis. Tennis is an expensive sport. My parents did everything for me. They were working double jobs, extra hours to be able to fund this," Danielle Collins said during her on-court interview at Italian Open 2025 on Saturday.

"And to be able to come out here and live out my dream. You know, I was never a child prodigy, I had an unconventional route. But that perseverance and hardwork has made me into the person I am," she added.

The 29th-seeded Collins will next face the winner between Elina Svitolina and Hailey Baptiste for a place in the Round-of-16 of the 2025 Italian Open later this week.

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Danielle Collins on foregoing decision to retire: "I can enjoy some more time on tour"

Danielle Collins serves at Italian Open 2025| Image Source: Getty

Danielle Collins had initially shocked the tennis universe at last year's Australian Open when she told the media that she planned to retire at the end of the 2024 season. The American claimed at the time that she wanted to eventually settle down, but her diagnosis of endometriosis stood in the way of her family aspirations.

However, the 33-year-old has since gone back on her decision, choosing to prolong her tennis career for now. Earlier this year in Melbourne, she spoke about putting the prospect of "starting her family" on pause as her career took an interesting turn last year.

"I mean, obviously I was looking forward to trying to start a family right away and to, you know, start a new chapter," Danielle Collins said in January. "But sometimes these things get thrown at you and different curve balls, and now it's just kind of like, well, I can enjoy some more time on tour, which is a bonus, but then obviously it's been tough emotionally just trying to, yeah, work through that side of things."

Collins enjoyed her career-best season on the WTA Tour in 2024, enjoying back-to-back triumphs at the Miami Open and the Charleston Open. She also ended the year at 11th in the WTA singles rankings.