Danielle Collins is out of the Australian Open, and you bet it didn’t go down without drama. Before exiting the Rod Laver Arena, the locals booed her. The American sensation’s apparent antics earned her that reception and her on-court performance was marred with several ups and downs. Begging the question, what really happened?

The 31-year-old locked horns with countrywoman Madison Keys in the third round of the ‘Happy Slam’ and just when fans thought she might survive another round, the latter turned the tables on her. Keys overpowered her with a dominant straight-set victory with a scoreline of 6-4, 6-4. During the match, however, drama unfolded when Collins felt physical discomfort in the second set on 3-4 down.

As a result, she was forced to call for a medical timeout (MTO) and judging from the visuals, the former World No. 7 seemed to be suffering from an issue in her left knee. She returned to the court with heavy strapping on her left leg but couldn’t bounce back in the match, as she went down in straight sets.

While the boos continued at various intervals, the match witnessed an amusing moment as well, where a spectator proposed to his partner in the stands, with Collins clapping, as the girl said “yes.”

Collins carried her physical troubles from her second-round contest. The WTA player seemed to be struggling with her right foot while clashing against home favorite Destanee Aiava and even took medicines to address the issue. While she still got through that match, that wasn’t the case against Keys.

Danimal’s campaign at the Melbourne Slam came to an end far earlier than she would have liked. As for her reception at the hands of a raucous crowd, she likely stayed unaffected. She is all for the hostility as long as it “motivates” her.

Danielle Collins cupped her ears to a rowdy Aussie crowd in Melbourne

Danielle Collins appeared to revel in playing the antagonist against her Aussie rival Destanee Aiava on Thursday, January 16. She endured constant boos from hecklers in the crowd during the mouthwatering contest and later, reserved a few words to address the subject in an on-court interview.

Her response to all the booing and jeering during the showdown was rather diabolical as she cupped her ears and blew kisses to the crowd in the aftermath. The 10th seed later said that she ‘loved’ the atmosphere. “I’ve been doing this my whole life and I love playing in a crowd that has energy, regardless of what side they’re on. I’m somebody, too, that it just motivates me even more so it’s kind of a good thing, especially when I’m not playing that well,” Collins remarked.

For those unaware, Collins recorded a controversy previously as well after calling out Polish No. 1 Iga Swiatek as ‘insincere’ in the aftermath of her Olympic quarterfinal feud in Paris last year. She then offered the former World No. 1 a cold handshake ahead of the United Cup final, which added fuel to the fire. However, the American star later expressed her willingness to bury the hatchet after Team USA beat Poland to secure the United Cup title.

For now, fans can only pray for Danimal’s speedy recovery and hope that she recovers before taking to the court once again. Her decision to withdraw her retirement, after an endometriosis diagnosis, hasn’t seemed to pay off yet. But the season has only started.

Are you backing Danielle Collins to make a mark moving ahead in the season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.