US Open 2024: Danielle Collins crashes out in first round in last Grand Slam appearance

Danielle Collins’ Grand Slam career crashed to an end on Tuesday afternoon as the world No. 11 melted down against Caroline Dolehide in the first round of the US Open.

Since she announced that this season would be her last back in January, her swan song has exceeded expectations as she went on a 15-match winning streak and notched titles in Charleston and her hometown Miami Open.

But there would be no storybook chapter in Queens this week as she lost 6-1, 5-7, 4-6 to Dolehide in a two-hour, 40 minute marathon.

If Collins’ wrath (she is known as the ‘Danimal’ to her fans) is her superpower on the court, it also proved to be her downfall against Dolehide, who won her first main draw US Open match in this contest.

Caroline Dolehide earned her first main-draw win in the US Open as she came back against Collins

The first frame was Collins at her best – powerful, precise and passionate as she overwhelmed Dolehide and buoyed off the energy from the crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium. 

That energy would soon channel into something less useful for Collins, though, as she tossed and slammed her racket on several occasions and committed 30 unforced errors in a pivotal second set. 

‘I was all over the place with my shots,’ she said after.

Collins, who took part in the Olympics with Team USA, cited ‘minimal preparation’ time ahead of the match afterwards, and also referenced an abdominal injury that kept her out of Cincinnati and the Canadian Open, as well as the heat stroke she suffered in Paris.

Still, she conceded that Dolehide played ‘very well’ after her competitor flipped the match on its head. 

After barely getting a sniff in the first set, Dolehide refused to wither in the second, breaking Collins at the first opportunity and hanging with her opponent during an outrageous fifth game that lasted nine deuces and 16 minutes.

Collins would outlast her opponent in that game to move to 3-2 in the second set, but it was a sign that the older player – who faced 16 break points in the match – wouldn’t merely be walking into the second round. 

Collins, who will still be competing in doubles at the US Open, turned down a retirement presentation on the court after the loss

Ultimately, a measured Dolehide frustrated Collins with her slice game and the 2022 Australian Open finalist edged closer and closer to her final singles Slam appearance, as a frustrating afternoon culminated with her turning down an on-court presentation afterwards.  

‘I’ve struggled with feeling guilt, you know, around success, and that’s something I have had to work on,’ Collins said. ‘So I’m not great, honestly, at having, like, an all-about-me moment. I just, yeah, would prefer to do something like that maybe in private, you know. But I feel like I’ve gotten enough attention to last a lifetime.

To her credit, she did not stop fighting. 

With Dolehide winning 5-3 in the final set, Collins survived two match points and got herself to a deuce with the help of a double fault from her opponent before she escaped to her own serve.

There would be no further escape act, though, and the 25-year-old Dolehide called time on Collins’ US Open singles career.