Though she never went to the police, the Women’s Tennis Association dealt with the cases internally. A WTA spokesperson said “player safety is the tour’s number one priority”. It recently appointed a director of safeguarding and launched education for anyone seeking credentials to restricted areas.
“I think our security team at the WTA does a phenomenal job of handling these situations and I’m really grateful for that,” Collins says. “They were able to handle it in a way that made me feel safe. With the nature of our travel it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish whether someone is truly a fan or the other…”
The unease she felt did not stop her from making the most of her skills on the court. As an up-and-coming teen, Florida-born Collins did not “come from financial opportunity”, with a schoolteacher and a landscaper for parents. But she says it taught her how to “grind” on tour. That, plus her aggressive shot-making, helped her rise to world No 7 in 2022, reaching the Australian Open final that same year.
“The majority of my life and career, I don’t think people had super high expectations for me. To have the career I’ve had, I think it’s been surprising to many people – but those people weren’t paying close enough attention,” Collins says pointedly. “The athleticism I have, the emotional resilience I have shouldn’t have been overlooked and I think people see that now. But it’s good to have the racket do the talking now. That’s all that matters, right?”
She is talking on a stifling hot day at Hyde Park but, apart from a half-eaten ice-cream cone dripping down her hand, she appears completely unflustered by the heat. Her golden mane is perfectly blow-dried, sunglasses are on and she is excitedly pointing out the swans waterside at the Serpentine. “I’m geeking out about these birds,” she laughs.
‘I’ve shared something incredibly vulnerable and then to have to deal with many tone-deaf people’
Collins is a woman intent on soaking up her final run at Wimbledon. Though she is only 30, this year she announced that this season will be her last. That decision is partly down to wanting to start a family in the near future. She was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2016, a condition she has had numerous surgeries for and one that is known to affect fertility. There have been debilitating symptoms at times and she has spoken openly about its impact on her life, with her story helping the WTA to raise awareness of women’s health issues.
Since disclosing her impending retirement, Collins has had some of the best results of her career, winning the Miami Open and going on a 15-match winning streak. That surge prompted questions about whether she might change her mind on retirement, and she found it difficult to disguise her impatience with them, considering her health issues.
“I think, for the most part, it comes from a good place, from people who want to see me play more good tennis. But I find it sometimes shocking when I go into the press conference and I get asked, ‘What would change your mind about retirement?’ I’ve shared something incredibly vulnerable and then to have to deal with many tone-deaf people has been frustrating at times. A lot of people are unaware of the health conditions of women that can affect fertility and their life in general. But I think there’s also a part of society that’s insensitive and unempathetic when it comes to women’s health conditions.”
For now, the focus is on Wimbledon. Her first memories at the All England Club were taking a tour around the grounds after failing to come through qualifying in 2017.
“I remember the coach I was travelling with said, ‘Who knows, this may be the only time we’re ever here’. I was so overwhelmed seeing this place for the first time, I had tears in my eyes as I was walking around. I said ‘you know what, I’m not coming back here unless I’m making the main draw’. The next year I came back and I qualified. I haven’t had to go through qualifying again. I always get emotional when I come to Wimbledon.”