‘She Doesn’t Care’ – Coco Gauff Brushes off Criticism Aimed at Danielle Collins Over Swiatek Incident

Danielle Collins has been in much news over the past few months owing to her career decisions. Early last year, she made up her mind to retire after the 2024 season. While she had a brilliant season last year, she made a U-turn on her retirement decision and is now continuing to play this year. However, as early as her first tournament of the 2025 season, Collins was embroiled in a controversy with Iga Swiatek. Despite the American star receiving much flak for that incident, her compatriot, Coco Gauff came to her defense.

During the United Cup, Collins caught the headlines for all the wrong reasons after her frosty handshake with Swiatek went viral. While many in the tennis world felt that it was aimed toward Swiatek’s doping controversy, Collins rubbished those rumors. Amid this, Gauff described Collins’ personality while talking about the Swiatek incident.

During an interview at the Australian Open, Gauff said, “I think for me like, especially like being on the team Danielle was just so fun and brought the best energy she was sick like the first week so um once like that was all cleared up she brought like great energy on the bench and um she’s been fun and I will say I think she’s I don’t know maybe more relaxed now. I always say Danielle’s going to be Danielle and there’s no one changing her and she doesn’t care either.”

Meanwhile, Collins also defended herself and revealed that the moment with Swiatek was never in a bad spirit. “I’m a human. I have situations I like, situations I don’t like, things that happen. All these memes keep coming up on Instagram of my face… my face says it all,” she mentioned after she faced criticism for her actions.

Recently, Collins also broke her silence on the doping incidents that have rocked the sport. Sympathizing with players like Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek, who have tested positive for low levels of banned substances, Collins said, “And that’s just my take on it and obviously I empathize with the people that have struggled with supplements and contamination. I’m sure that’s a real thing but honestly, that hasn’t been a big concern to me cuz I feel like I have a lot of trust in my daily vitamins and the stuff that I am using. I feel like all the third-party testing they’re doing now and making sure that all of those factories where they are producing these products they’re pretty stringent on what can be made in those facilities and so it hasn’t been something that I’ve been fearful of.

Collins enjoyed a perfect start to the season as Team USA won the United Cup. Following the tournament, she had a heartfelt message for her teammates.

Danielle Collins gets emotional in stirring tribute for Coco Gauff and other teammates

Although Collins didn’t play any match in the United Cup, she trained the entire week during the United Cup with her teammates. Eventually, she took away some great memories from the time spent at the tournament as Team USA beat Poland in the final. After their win, Collins took to social media and shared an emotional message for her teammates.

She said, “The absolute best week with this team. And what great teammates I have for completely spoiling me all week long I have to admit I loved every second of not having to lift a finger while everyone else was completely dominating left and right (hammer emoji) Seriously nothing better than being with this crew.”

Meanwhile, Collins is through to the second round of the Australian Open after a comfortable straight-set win over Daria Snigur in the first round. She’ll next face Destanee Aiava for a place in the Australian Open third round. Can Collins dig deep in the tournament? Let us know your views in the comments below.