Danielle Collins is jeered off the court as she crashes out of the Australian Open after defeat by Madison Keys – two days on from taunting hecklers

  • The American pantomime villain lost to her compatriot in straight sets 
  • Collins was booed after sarcastically thanking spectators for ‘paying my bills’ 
  • She also insisted she wouldn’t let the persistent heckling get under her skin 

Danielle Collins was booed off the court after being knocked out of the Australian Open following her defeat to fellow American Madison Keys on Saturday.

Collins, 31, became a pantomime villain at Melbourne Park after sarcastically hitting back at her hecklers, having defeated home favourite Destanee Aiava in the second round on Thursday before bragging about earning a ‘big fat cheque’.

She also blew kisses at the crowd, cupped her ear and even slapped her backside. 

One critic took exception to her behaviour, scathingly labelling her a ‘brat’, and there was no love lost when she returned to the court for her third round tie.

Collins, the 10th seed in the women’s singles, smiled after being given a mixed reception when she walked out on centre court at Rod Laver Arena.

But cheers soon went up when she made her first double fault and despite showing glimpses of a fightback in the second set, Collins was downed 6-4 6-4. 

Danielle Collins crashed out of the Australian Open after losing to Madison Keys

Collins flashed a gesture toward the crowd after being heckled as she left the court

Collins flashed a gesture toward the crowd after being heckled as she left the court

Keys won in straight sets two days on from Collins' dramatic victory over Destanee Aiava

Keys won in straight sets two days on from Collins’ dramatic victory over Destanee Aiava

At the end of the first set, the chair umpire told the crowd to respect both players.

Collins endured a miserable display and also required a medical timeout at 4-3 down in the second set, with heavy strapping then applied to her left leg.

After crashing out, she hobbled off the court to more audible jeers. 

A beaten finalist to Ash Barty in Melbourne in 2022, Collins had yelled at the crowd to ‘shut up’ after a fault during her pulsating victory over Aiava.

Later, however, she said she used the ‘hostile atmosphere’ as motivation.

‘One of the greatest things about being a professional athlete is that the people that don’t like you and the people that hate you, they actually pay your bills,’ Collins said.

‘My professional career is not going to last forever so I just remind myself every day when I have that kind of stuff [negative crowd reactions] they’re paying my bills.

‘Every person that has bought a ticket to come out here and heckle me or do what they do, it’s all going towards the Danielle Collins fund.

Collins had sarcastically cupped her ear after being jeered by the crowd on Thursday

Collins had sarcastically cupped her ear after being jeered by the crowd on Thursday

She even slapped her own backside before bragging about her significant pay cheque

She even slapped her own backside before bragging about her significant pay cheque

She believes she was primarily heckled because she was facing the last Australian standing

She believes she was primarily heckled because she was facing the last Australian standing

‘I think they really wanted for her to win badly. I think there were a lot of people that were super drunk and had a hard time controlling themselves and were really excited.

‘I’m from a different country, here competing against someone that’s from here. Ultimately it was a pretty cool environment I thought. 

‘Even though it was pretty rowdy, this girl loves it, so…

‘All I have to say is good luck pissing somebody off or getting under the skin of somebody that really doesn’t care.’

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