Danielle Collins demands a default against Maria Sakkari after verbal altercation in a fiery bust up at the Canadian Open
Danielle Collins and Maria Sakkari exchanged harsh words in the second round of the Canadian Open due to player recklessness.
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Maria Sakkari (L) and Danielle Collins (R) (Credits: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship and Evening Standard)
Danielle Collins and Maria Sakkari exchanged harsh words in the second round of the Canadian Open. Sakkari, who received a walkover to the round of 32, and Collins, who beat World No. 26 Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-2, got into a heated debate during the course of the match.
The American player started strong, winning the first set 6-4. She was leading 2-1 in the second set when the argument erupted. As Sakkari was serving for the game, her first serve was a fault, which Collins returned. The Greek player then smashed the ball on the ground, which then bounced over to the stands.
World No. 6 raised her hand in an apologetic manner to the crowd in acknowledgment of her error. The ball did not hit anyone in the stands, and the umpire let it go without a warning. However, Collins did not let go of the matter and considered it a violation.
She asked the chair umpire, “Did you just see that? Did you just see what happened?” Sakkari then angrily replied that the ball was on the ground and did not hit anyone. However, in a surprising turn of events, Collins rudely responded to her opponent, “Shut your mouth, shut your mouth.”
The Greek, who was ready to resume the match, then continued the argument by replying, “What’s your problem? I didn’t hit anyone. I framed the ball.” Collins was not ready to drop the matter easily. She repeatedly protested that her opponent’s actions be reprimanded.
She even said that this was grounds for disqualification. Her argument is that “You hit the ball into the stands, Maria; you almost hit someone.”
As expected, the tension grew, and the two continued their squabble. The chair umpire intervened, and play resumed. Eventually, Collins dominated the second set and went on to win 6-2. She has advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open, where she will face Lehlah Fernandez.
Debate over player’s recklessness
Moreover, this match has once again sparked a debate around players’ recklessness and whether such actions should have harsher consequences. Casper Ruud also weighed in on the topic in the Ruud Talk podcast by saying that racket abuse and unsportsmanlike conduct bring negative attention and tarnish the image of tennis altogether. He shared how a few people’s behavior clouds the good efforts of the majority of players.
Many mainstream players such as Daniil Medvedev and Nick Kyrgios have smashed and thrown rackets around in burns of anger. Ruud condemned such behavior and hoped that there would be better rules in place.
He said, “I think the punishment is tough to say what is fair and what is not; they do get big fines, but for some of these players [it] doesn’t seem like it matters. So it’s tough to say what we can do about it. I mean, the majority of players, they don’t do these things, but the way it’s looking, it can look like a big, big accident or incident can occur at any time.“
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Vitasta Singh
(691 Articles Published)