“One of the greatest things about being a professional athlete is that the people who don’t like you and the people that hate you—they actually pay your bills.” Danielle Collins made heads turn at the Australian Open back in January. Getting boos from the crowd? Not an issue because, in Danimal’s opinion, the hecklers were ‘funding’ her next vacation anyway as she took down the local favorite Destanee Aiava. And you know what? She did go on a vacation later, in the Bahamas, enjoying her stay in a five-star hotel. Fast forward four weeks, Collins is looking to cash in again, however, with an interesting collaboration this time.

On Wednesday, Danielle Collins revealed a surprise collaboration with the accessory brand Richsport to introduce a special merchandise collection. Guess what its tagline is? “Play Tennis, Cash Checks, Repeat”

“For years, I’ve had so many fans reach out to me, saying, ‘Danielle, when are you going to do a merchandise drop? We need some Danimal Collins merchandise,” Collins revealed in an interaction with the tennis journalist David Kane. “I finally got to thinking about it like, ‘Yeah, let’s f—ing go! We’re doing this, and now’s the time.’” She even had a pop-up event for the merch a few days back at the Terra Hotel in Palm Springs.

As part of the unique collaboration, fans can buy a Danielle Collins x richsport t-shirt and a trucker cap. While Collins is excited for her followers to check out the merch, she’s keen on one special person trying it out. “I haven’t seen Novak this tournament (Indian Wells) yet, but I will definitely be gifting him some merch,” she said. Reason?

Well, in case you missed it, the Golden Slam icon Novak Djokovic was one of the supporters of Collins’ on-court behavior in Melbourne. He backed her, saying, “I loved her response. I loved it. Everything she said on the court and off the court, big fan of Danielle Collins after that. I was before, but now a big fan.”

Continuing further, the Serb added, “I heard some comments from people that she, you know she shouldn’t have said that or that I think she handled it really well I don’t think I would be that polite um, and uh but and I know exactly the feeling so I think she was funny, smart. Big fan of what she did. Big fan(laughs).” Djokovic is set to begin his campaign in the Indian Wells on Sunday, against Botic Van de Zandschulp. Don’t be surprised if he gives the Dan Collins merch a go at some stage in the tournament.

While you might think the merch reveal by Collins is just another collaboration of an athlete with a brand, it’s not the case. Collins’ collaboration with Richsport has a noble cause, too. What is it?

Danielle Collins’ merchandise to help women, and here’s how

In the same interview with Kane, the 2024 Miami Open champion revealed the true objective behind introducing customized merch. A portion of the proceeds from the sales will be sent to a women’s equity fund, according to her. “When a male athlete is successful and earns good money, they can talk about it a little more openly and not be judged in the same way that women get judged when they talk about success and money,” she said.

“Part of this line is centered around encouraging women to be able to talk about money freely and being open about their success. I want to get more women comfortable embracing both,” the American further added.

Danielle Collins, who began her doubles campaign in Indian Wells this week, was pleased to see fans sporting her merch within days of launch. “It’s already been so fun seeing everybody. Like today, there were a couple of fans at my doubles match that had the merchandise. It’s been awesome seeing people take photos with the merch and having fun with it,” she revealed.

And that’s what her main goal is – to have a really good, fun time. “I think a lot of people are saying this now, but tennis needs more fun. We need to be able to be a bit more light-hearted at times, be able to laugh at ourselves, but also wear our hearts on our sleeves,” the 31-year-old remarked.

As she’s enjoying her entrepreneurial side, Collins is equally focused on her game, too. Her doubles journey with compatriot Desirae Krawczyk ended early, after a first-round loss on Friday. But guess what? She’s still got her singles campaign at the Indian Wells. In the R64 on Saturday, she’s going against compatriot Hailey Baptiste. Are you backing her to make a deep run in the tournament?