American tennis star Danielle Collins lost her composure after fans tried to disrupt her opponent, Erika Andreeva, in the knockout match of the Monterrey Open.
A troubling group of fans kept on interrupting both Collins and Andreeva during their Round of 16 match, which ultimately forced Collins to lash out at them. The visibly frustrated tennis star threw her hand in the air, stating, “what in the world. I don’t get it,” as she went on to tell the fans that it is not difficult for them to let the players compete “and be supportive.”
Although the fans seemingly stopped shouting at the players after receiving backlash from Collins, the damage was already done, as an otherwise super-focused Collins ended up suffering from a shocking loss despite winning the first set by 6-3.
In the subsequent sets, Andreeva made a remarkable comeback as she won the next two sets by 6-3 each and registered her first-ever win against any top 20-ranked player, which also advanced her to the quarter-final round.
After the historic win, Andreeva stated that she never thinks about the rank of such a level of player as it only puts her under unnecessary pressure. She further added that she was only focused on hitting the ball and tried to capitalize on every opportunity instead of looking at what opponent she was playing against.
However, Andreeva’s journey at the tournament also ended in the quarter finals when she lost against New Zealand’s Lulu Sun in one-sided affairs.
This is not the first time that Collins has engaged in direct exchange with fans. She previously made headlines earlier this year when she lost a point and received some inaudible chants from a fan, to whom she replied, “f**k off,” and asked them to come out on the court and play. The tennis star also asked the fan to respect the players. Right after these comments, Collins scored and roared while looking toward the same fan.
In another event in Australia, she responded to the fans heckling in the heat of the moment but later said that such moments add a “flare” to the game and that she loves it when she is being challenged in that way.
Collins reached up to the quarter-finals of the recently-concluded Paris Olympics, where she retired in Round 8 after suffering from injured stomach muscles, which the player later said happened due to dehydration and the lack of a cold drinking water facility at the venue.
