US tennis star Danielle Collins took on the villain role during her Australian Open second round victory on Thursday, labelling the crowd as ‘super drunk’ after being on the receiving end of a crescendo of boos.
Danielle Collins booked her spot in the Australian Open third round with a 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 win over Aussie qualifier Destanee Aiava on Thursday in what was a fiery second round encounter in the women’s singles event.
After securing victory, Collins cupped her hand to her ear and blew kisses to the crowd before slapping her backside and slamming the supporters inside the arena during her post-match interviews.
“During the match I was like, while I’m out here I might as well take that big fat pay cheque,” Collins said as the boos rang around Melbourne Park.
“We love a good five star vacation, so a part of that cheque is going to go towards that.
“So thank you guys, thanks for coming out here and supporting us tonight. Thank you guys, love you.”
WATCH: Danielle Collins Taunts Australian Open Crowd
Little bit of prime “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan about Danielle Collins post match!#AO2025 pic.twitter.com/nyusDgt3PP
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2025
Thanks to the victory over Aiava, Collins has secured a minimum of £147,000 ($180,000) in prize money at this year’s Australian Open, with fellow American and close friend Madison Keys awaiting in the third round.
The 31-year-old continued to taunt the home fans in her post-match press conference by saying: “Well I’m going to be here for two hours, putting up with all these people, I might as well take the bigger pay check, right?
“I was super happy to do that and one of the greatest things about being a professional athlete are that the people that don’t like you and that hate you, they actually pay your bills.
“It’s kind of a cool concept and obviously my professional career is not going to last forever and I just remind myself every day when I have that kind of stuff that they’re paying my bills.
“Every person that has bought a ticket and has come out here to heckle me can do what they do. It’s all going towards the Danielle Collins fund. So like, yeah, bring it on I love it.”
Danielle Collins says the best thing about being a professional athlete is that the people that hate her pay her bills:
“Every person that bought a ticket to come heckle me, it’s all going towards the Danielle Collins Fund. Bring it on.” 😂
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 16, 2025
Collins continued, stating that she wasn’t surprised by the rowdy atmosphere she experienced against the home favourite and even went as far as to label the crowd as ‘super drunk’.
“Look, Destanee is from here. I think they really wanted her to win,” she said.
“There were a lot of people that were super drunk and had a hard time controlling themselves and were really excited. I think, too, they wanted to continue to see a good, long, hard match.
“But yeah, I mean, look, I’m from a different country, here competing against someone that’s from here. Ultimately it was a pretty cool environment, I thought.
“Even though it was pretty rowdy, this girl loves it.”
