"They are just hurting themselves" – Danielle Collins calls out tennis elitism while she launches First Pickleball Paddle

Former World No. 7 and WTA star Danielle Collins recently expressed her thoughts on the elitist mentality of tennis traditionalists towards the sport of pickleball and has launched her signature pickleball paddle. Collins was seen in action at the 2025 US Open tournament, where she competed in both singles and mixed doubles categories.

Danielle Collins has introduced her new signature pickleball paddle developed in collaboration with one of the leading racket brands, Tecnifibre. Due to her highly aggressive and ferocious playing style, Collins is admirably known by her moniker, 'Danimal'. Following the animal spirit name, her signature paddle came to be known as the Danimal Paddle.

While recently appearing on Pickleball.com's official podcast, Collins expressed how she was initially hesitant to start playing pickleball, owing to her personality trait and how much fun and engaging the sport has been for her. Furthermore, she also highlighted tennis conservatives who are judging pickleball without even trying it.

"I definitely think I was a little discerning at first. But I tend to have that personality trait. And it takes me a while to kind of fully get on board with something before saying yes, usually," she shared (0:59 onwards).

"I think there's a lot of tennis purists that haven't they just haven't really given pickleball a chance or they haven't got to an experience it themselves, because they're going to it with a judgmental mindset, but really they're just hurting themselves. They're just missing out because pickleball is a lot of fun."

She continued:

"I love the personalities that we see out on the pickleball courts. I love the competitive spirit. I love how it's embraced amongst the pickleball culture and people. I have a lot of fun playing pickleball. So, once I gave it a try, I was sold."

Collins' pickleball paddle is stylishly designed with a leopard print pattern, as they are one of her favourites. The black background has the leopard's eyes and nose in the upper section, while the logo is covered in similar leopard print below. Furthermore, the handle is displayed in a warm brown material.

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Danielle Collins concluded her 2025 season with the US Open due to injury

Danielle Collins at the WTA 1000 National Bank Open presented by Rogers - Day 3—Source: Getty

Danielle Collins, who has clinched four WTA singles titles and one doubles title, concluded her US Open journey with a first-round loss to Jaqueline Cristian in women's singles.

She reached the semi-finals of the mixed doubles with Christian Harrison but lost to the eventual Italian champions, the duo of Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori.

The St. Petersburg, Florida, native ended her 2025 season with the US Open tournament. She decided to bid adieu to her season, citing pain from a herniated disc.