Danielle Collins is fearless. With the way she’s playing in her final season, it takes a lot of courage to produce such performances and do so consistently. Further, she has displayed courage not only while playing but also during interactions with the crowd. During the recently concluded Italian Open and before that Madrid, Collins was heckled by a few spectators in the stands. However, Collins gave it back and confronted the fan in Madrid and had a crisp response in Rome. Referring to her sometimes devil-may-care attitude, Collins opened up about her strong philosophy of not letting injustice slide.

Ahead of the French Open, Collins is warming up for the major tournament by playing in the WTA Strasbourg. Seeded third there, Collins opens her campaign later today. During the pre-match interview, she was asked how she felt about giving it back to the fans who behaved inappropriately during the matches.

Collins revealed, “I think we gotta have fun out there. I turn on the TV so many times and say to myself, like, boring. Nobody wants to watch robots on the court. I consider myself an entertainer and someone who brings some personality to the game and for me to keep everyone entertaining, I certainly do that.”

To the fan in Madrid, Collins blatantly singled them out and said, “You come out here and play and you do what I do, okay? Have a little more respect.” In Rome, when she missed her serve and the crowd started making noise, she almost yelled, “What? What?” And indeed, it’s not the easiest thing to not only play against world-class players and do it well, but do it in front of large crowds, some of which are siding with your opponent. Certainly, Collins never disappoints.

Unlike many players who tend to ignore the chants from the crowd, Collins isn’t one among them and likes to give a fitting response. And her Italian Open hijinks didn’t end with the quarter-final shout!

Danielle Collins cheekily blew a kiss to the Italian crowd

The 30-year-old was involved in an intriguing quarter-final match at the Madrid Open against Victoria Azarenka. While her opponent was not even Italian, the crowd was clearly having fun teasing Danielle Collins. As soon as she secured the victory, the crowd roared. But at least some of those shouts were not in her favor and were possibly boos. The American’s reaction?

She blew a kiss! With her unique flair, Collins gave a huge smile, put a hand to her lips, and blew out a kiss to the crowd. The crowd still erupted but Collins walked home the winner. Unfortunately, the next match was brutal as she faced a semi-final defeat against Aryna Sabalenka. Nevertheless, with the Italian Open over, she will aim to dig deep in Strasbourg and take on Katerina Siniakova in her opening match.