“Not Meek and Mild,” Danielle Collins Explains Controversial Behaviour After Strasbourg Win Over Emma Raducanu
After registering her career's first victory over Emma Raducanu, Danielle Collins set up a quarterfinal match against Anna Kalinskaya.
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Danielle Collins, Emma Raducanu (Image via X/#AusOpen, Jeu, Set et Match)
Danielle Collins loves to express herself and doesn’t hesitate to give it back if something annoys her a great deal. On Wednesday (May 21) Collins came from a set down to knock out Emma Raducanu in the fourth round of the Strasbourg Open that lasted for two hours and 20 minutes.
During a changeover, a cameraperson was standing too close to her and Raducanu, and this irked her and she decided to confront him for being “wildly inappropriate“. Collins has often faced criticism for her conduct toward fans, and rivals, as well as her celebrations. For the American ace, competition means bringing the energy and showing all the emotions that she feels.
She wants to be true to herself but admits that it can be difficult due to the outside noise. After the match, Collins explained why it’s important for her to be unapologetically herself.
To be good at anything, self-expression is really important. There aren’t many successful people in the world that feel like they can’t be themselves. And I think you have to be yourself, and I’m a competitor at the end of the day. I’m not meek and mild. I'm not someone that is…yeah, just kind of through life quietly and I want to succeed.
Collins made headlines all around the world during the Australian Open this year. After knocking out home favorite Destanee Aiava in the second round, Collins cupped her ear and shouted, “How about that?” more than one time toward the crowd, before blowing kisses and slapping her backside.
Emma Raducanu reveals what she was talking to Danielle Collins during the match
As mentioned before, Danielle Collins was annoyed at the cameraperson for filming her and Emma Raducanu during the change of ends. While filling her bottle, she went on a rant about why it was inappropriate for the cameraman to stand too close to the players. Raducanu was asked about the confrontation at the press conference after the defeat.
I was standing up because I did not want to sit down in the third set because of my back. I was staying standing because it was a bit more comfortable and then she came to fill her bottle up and was just saying how the cameraman was really close and felt a bit inappropriate, but that is all she was saying.Emma Raducanu said
Raducanu was chasing her first title of her career since winning the 2021 US Open as a teenager. Since that victory, Raducanu produced her best performance this year at the Miami Open where she progressed to the quarterfinals and lost the match to eventual runner-up Jessica Pegula.
The Brit also did decently at the recently concluded Italian Open as she made it to the fourth round, losing the match to eventual runner-up Coco Gauff. Next is the French Open which Raducanu will be playing for the first time since 2022. Her best performance in the clay-court Major came in 2022 when she reached the second round.
Collins’ best performance in Paris came in 2020 when she progressed to the quarterfinals. Last year, she was defeated in the second round by Serbia’s Olga Danilovic.
Collins will next be locking horns with Russian ace Anna Kalinskaya, who knocked out Pegula in the previous round. The former World No.7 has met the 26-year-old twice on the tour, winning both the matches. These two matches were held on the hard courts of Austin and Melbourne. Both the players haven’t yet tasted success this season.
Before Strasbourg, Collins lost the fourth-round match in Rome to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina. Kalinskaya, on the other hand, lost her opening-round match to Peyton Stearns.
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