Collins cruises in COCO championship

It turns out Danielle Collins’ farewell tour is turning into a victory celebration.

 

Collins announced in January that 2024 would be her final year on the Women’s Tennis Association tour, a point she reiterated Sunday after she breezed past Daria Kasatkina, 6-2, 6-1, to claim the championship of the 52nd Credit One Charleston Open.

 

The 30-year-old Collins needed only 77 minutes to gain her career-best 13th consecutive victory.

 

She became the first player since Serena Williams to win both the Miami and Charleston tennis championships. Williams accomplished the feat in 2013.

 

“To have had the week that I had here after having such a great run in Miami, and I had a lot of matches in Miami, and I had a lot of matches here,” said Collins, who lost to Shelby Rogers in the opening round in Charleston last year.

 

“I had, at one point in this tournament, two matches in one day, which is not easy to pull off. I don’t know if I’ve done that before as a professional. I feel like the last time I did that was like in 12-and-unders.

 

“So to be able to physically battle and push myself to a new limit gives me a lot of confidence, and I mean, I’ve been so happy to be, obviously, playing at the level that I’ve been playing, but to be able to back it up two weeks in a row has just been fantastic,” Collins added. 

 

“So, the support that I’ve had this week from all of the fans here, from my team, it’s been amazing. Yeah. It’s a whirlwind.”

 

Collins moved up seven rungs on the WTA rankings ladder to check in at World No. 15 following another impressive week of tennis.

 

The year 2024 wasn’t always so kind to the former University of Virginia star, as she announced shortly after the Australian Open this would be her final season on tour. Collins missed most of the first half of the season in 2021 after being diagnosed with endometriosis.

 

“I mean, we could talk about like women’s health and chronic inflammatory conditions,” she said. “But I’m kind of, with my set of challenges, it’s a very personal decision. And, you know, it’s great that I’ve made the decision that is best for me, and it’s best for me personally.”

 

“I’m really happy that I can showcase my best tennis in these last couple of events, because I think that’s the way I want to go out, and I want to go out with my best results,” Collins added.

 

“I know everyone has a different way of retiring and ending their career, but for me, I want to try to go out playing my best tennis. And I mean, obviously, the set of challenges that I have like speaks for itself. And it’s a really important life decision.”

 

In the COCO doubles final, Americans Ashlyn Krueger and Sloane Stephens defeated Ukrainian sisters Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok 1-6, 6-3, [10-7] to win the championship.