PARIS, France — Red, white, and blue. And green.
American tennis player and St. Petersburg native Danielle Collins isn’t just getting support from her own country at the Paris Olympics. Irish fans have adopted her as one of their own, too.
Collins started to realize the extent of her new fanbase when she was warming up before her first-round victory over German opponent Laura Siegemund at Roland Garros on Sunday.
“A group of people that were Irish, and because of my last name, Collins, they came out to support me even though I’m American. Because my grandfather is Irish they wanted to support me. How cool is that?” Collins said.
“And a couple times when I was in the (athletes) village, some of the Irish came up to me and said, ’Oh my goodness, Collins, that’s a very Irish last name.' And we got to talking and I made some new friends and got the Irish pin. So that has been so cool because we don’t have a lot of Irish tennis players on tour."
The Irish also might have had a leading figure in Ireland’s fight for independence in mind: Michael Collins, who was portrayed in film by Liam Neeson.
Collins’ first name also comes from her late Irish grandfather, who was named Daniel Collins.
She doesn’t quite remember if it was her grandfather or her great-grandfather who emigrated from Ireland.
“Maybe somebody on ancestor.com can help me,” Collins said.
The ninth-ranked Collins, who is making her Olympic debut in her last season on tour, advanced when Siegemund retired because of a left ankle injury. Collins was ahead 6-3, 2-0 at the time of the withdrawal. She next plays Caroline Wozniacki.
The 30-year-old Collins, an Australian Open finalist in 2022, underwent surgery in 2021 to treat endometriosis. She has said she wants to have a child — which is why she plans to retire at the end of the year.
She hadn’t qualified for the Olympic team until this year.
“It’s even more special when you’re an American getting the opportunity to do this because you don’t get to be on the Olympic team unless you’re like in the top 15 in the world,” she said. “That really says a lot about the level that we have."
“It’s also special because I’ve known these women for so long," added Collins, who prepared “goodie bags” for her teammates. "I’ve known Jess (Jessica Pegula) since we were young teenagers. I’ve known Des (her doubles partner Desirae Krawczyk) since we were about 10 years old, playing the national tournaments together because we’re the same age. I’ve known Coco Gauff (a fellow Floridian) for a good part of her life, because I met her when she was very young as well. And then Emma Navarro, being from my school (the University of Virginia, where Collins was a two-time NCAA champion). ... So it’s been so nice that in my final year, I’ll get to have these memories forever.”
So when exactly will Collins end her career? Perhaps on home soil at the U.S. Open? She hopes not — because she wants to qualify for the year-end WTA Finals that will be held in Saudi Arabia in November. The top eight players in the rankings qualify and Collins has never made it before.
“I’m in a really good position in the race right now,” she said. “I would love to be able to experience that.”
Like many Olympians, Collins has gotten into collecting pins. To the point that she has recruited a fellow tennis players to help complete her collection.
“I have about 40. My goal is to get to 100,” she said. “Clara Tauson from Denmark is helping me. She’s in the village and staying in a building where there’s some athletes from some smaller countries, with fewer athletes. Those are the rare pins. Today I got Slovakia’s, because I warmed up with (Anna Karolina) Schmiedlova. … But Clara is hopefully going to help me get maybe Somalia. And I’m hoping, Saudi Arabia.”
Maybe she can ask Irish athletes for help, too.
