Bringing back old memories! Danielle Collins and Iga Swiatek were yet again caught in a single frame. This time both the tennis players were spotted sharing a bizarre handshake ahead of the 2025 United Cup final. Previously, Collins and Swiatek were involved in a fiery matchup during the Paris Olympics. That match was marred with several controversial moments and we’ll take a look back at all of them one by one. However, the fans aren’t too pleased with Collins’ expression during her recent handshake with the former world number one. What is the tennis world saying about this incident?

Multiple controversial moments led to a rise in temperature in Paris last year during the Olympics. Danielle Collins was shown the exit door at the 2024 Paris Olympics by Iga Swiatek. However, more than the abrupt ending (6-1,2-6,4-1) in this match, it was the controversy that made the headlines in this epic battle. At one point in the match, Collins seemed to be a bit annoyed seeing Iga Swiatek’s racquet lift to stop her from serving and then she was seen yelling at her saying, “Play at the server’s pace!“

Not only, that, Danielle Collins even had accidentally hit Iga Swiatek on the mid-rib during the play. The shot was hit so hard that the Pole initially seemed to be in a bit of pain. Danielle Collins did rush to check on her opponent that time, but temperatures soared even higher later on. While speaking on the impact of that shot Swiatek later revealed, “I was hit right under the ribs. I couldn’t breathe for a few seconds, but a moment later everything returned to normal and everything is fine now.”

Fans were literally on their seats during this epic battle and they perhaps wanted this match to go on for a little longer, but Collins cited an abdominal injury and withdrew from the match. However, that wasn’t the end of the drama. When asked about her fiery exchange with Iga Swiatek during the match, Collins said, “I told Iga she didn’t have to be insincere about, you know, my injury. There’s a lot that happens on camera, and there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma and come out and are one way on camera and another way in the locker room. And I just haven’t had the best experience, and I don’t really feel like anybody needs to be insincere. They can be the way that they are. I can accept that, and I don’t need that fakeness.“

Collins faced a lot of criticism after that incident with Iga Swiatek. Now after seeing, their cold handshake at the 2025 United Cup, fans have come out in numbers to take a jibe at Danielle Collins once again.

Fans aren’t too pleased with Danielle Collins’ dramatic handshake with Iga Swiatek at the 2025 United Cup

Everyone was keenly watching Collins’ reaction while she was shaking hands with Swiatek ahead of Team USA’s United Cup tie against Poland. Currently, American has got a lead of 1-0 with Coco Gauff’s incredible 6-4,6-4 win over Iga Swiatek, but hold on! That’s not the talk of the town at the moment. After seeing Danielle Collins’ bizarre handshake, a fan tweeted, “Lack of class, acting like a child.“

What was Iga Swiatek’s reaction to “fakeness“ comment made by Collins during the Paris Olympics? Well, Swiatek at that time had revealed, that she never said anything to Collins in poor taste. She said that she just wanted to congratulate Danielle Collins as she had previously announced that she’d retire at the end of the 2024 season. Why did the American postpone her retirement plans, though?

Well, after her R2 loss at the 2024 AO, Danielle Collins announced that she’d be retiring at the end of the season to start a family. However, later on, she revealed that she’s been currently dealing with some health challenges including an endometriosis diagnosis that hampered her plans to start a family. While announcing this she said, “Danimal story has not reached its conclusion.” However, after seeing her recent handshake moment with Swiatek at the United Cup some of the fans wrote, “Just retire Karen 🫣.”

Karen? What’s that, though? Well, Karen is a Generation Z slang term typically used to refer to an ‘upper-middle-class white American woman who is perceived as entitled or excessively demanding.‘ However, there were a few others who also wrote the same about Danielle Collins. One of the fans tweeted, “She ain’t called Karen Collins for nothing. 🤢 🤮 🙄.”

However, a few months after that incident during the Paris Olympics, Danielle Collins admitted that she could’ve taken a different approach while addressing her controversy with Iga Swiatek. In an interview with The Athletic in November last year, she said, “I think what happened on the court is very much just like sometimes people have friction at work. For most people, it’s not on the news. I’m trying to be the best person that I can be, but that’s not to say that I don’t fall short of that. I could have taken a different approach and done some things differently. But we had a moment there on the court.“

Later on, when asked if she had been in touch with Swiatek since their heated interaction, she said that Iga Swiatek was “guarded” by her people. Danielle Collins also felt that whenever there was some friction between women, the situation was blown out of proportion. Relating to the recent handshake moment, another fan gave her a new name, “Karen Collins.“

After that controversial moment in Paris, we saw several tennis experts condemning Danielle Collins’ reaction towards Iga Swiatek. Renowned journalist, Ben Rothenberg said, “I have no idea what Collins meant by Iga’s falseness and insincerity.“ Even Collins’ ex-coach Jared Jacobs admitted, “Iga has always been a nice person. She certainly didn’t say anything to Danielle that should have bothered her.“

After seeing the recent moment featuring the two, fans have now brought in another controversial figure who has been running the show in the last few months with his bizarre comments on the ongoing doping saga. “Good upbringing and class cannot be bought. Collins is the second Krygios,” another fan tweeted. Fans love watching Collins’ fiery nature, but at times these things force her to face some major backlashes. Share your thoughts on this handshake moment featuring Collins and Swiatek at the United Cup.