Danielle Collins Reveals Fertility Struggles Behind Her Decision To Return To Tennis In 2025
American tennis player Danielle Collins has reversed her decision to retire, saying she will be back on tour in 2025.
Collins announced in January she would retire at the end of the 2024 season, saying she wanted to start a family and not spend 40 weeks on the road each year.
The 30-year-old, ranked ninth in the WTA rankings, said on social media on Thursday she had been “a little MIA (missing in action)” the last few weeks after a “stressful time” with hurricanes in her home state of Florida and dealing with issues around endometriosis, a chronic gynecological disease which can affect fertility.
Collins, nicknamed ‘Danimal’ for her powerful serve and strong groundstrokes, has not played since losing to world number 152 Olivia Gadecki in Guadalajara, Mexico in September. Her last major tournament was the U.S. Open, where was knocked out in the first round.
Collins reached the quarterfinals in Paris during her maiden Olympics before an abdominal injury forced her to retire against Iga Swiatek.
“While I was very excited and eager to wrap up my tennis career on a high note this year and jump headfirst into my next chapter of life, things have not gone as planned,” Collins said on Instagram.
“In addition to managing some lingering health challenges the past few months, I’ve recently been seeing a handful of specialists to better understand what my best path forward is to achieve my ultimate dream, starting a family.”
“Dealing with endometriosis and fertility is a massive challenge for many women and something that I am actively traversing, but I am fully confident in the team I am working with. It is just going to take longer than I thought,” she added.
“So, the DANIMAL story has not reached its conclusion. I will be back on tour in 2025.”
On Thursday, Collins was named to Team USA for the season-opening mixed team United Cup tournament, which takes place in the lead-up to the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year.
At the 2022 Australian Open, Collins lost to Ash Barty in the final for her best Grand Slam singles result.
The American, who hit a career-high ranking of No.7 in July 2022, played some of her best tennis this season, winning the biggest title of her career at the WTA 1000 Miami Open and later at the WTA 500 in Charleston.
“While there are no guarantees in life, I hope to build on my 2024 momentum and keep playing until there is more certainty around my personal fertility journey,” Collins said. “The only guarantee for now will be some more epic matches.”
Danielle Collins: World number nine postpones retirement as she deals with endometriosis
World number nine Danielle Collins will return to action next year after previously announcing she would retire at the end of the 2024 season.
The 30-year-old American continues to deal with endometriosis, which can affect fertility, and told BBC Sport in May that starting a family was "one of her biggest goals outside of tennis".
Collins posted on Instagram: "The Danimal story has not reached its conclusion. I will be back on tour in 2025."
She said while she had been "excited and eager" to end her tennis career "on a high note" this year and "jump headfirst into my next chapter of life", things have not gone as planned.
Describing starting a family as her "ultimate dream", she said as well as managing some lingering health challenges during the past few months, she has been seeing specialists to help understand her best path forward.
She added: "Dealing with endometriosis and fertility is a massive challenge for many women and something that I am actively traversing, but I am fully confident in the team I am working with. It is just going to take longer than I thought."
Collins' announcement came on the same day she was listed on the entries for the season-opening United Cup in Australia, which takes place from 27 December to 5 January.
The 2022 Australian Open finalist won back-to-back tournaments in Miami and Charleston in March and April amid a strong run of form.
However, she has not competed since losing to world number 152 Olivia Gadecki in Guadalajara on 11 September - her fourth successive defeat since reaching the quarter-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
