Danielle collins lives with two chronic conditions. Now the 28-year-old american challenges local ashleigh barty in the final of the australian open, the best female tennis player of the moment.
ashleigh barty and danielle collins meet in the final of the australian open.
When danielle collins goes on the court, she always has two opponents: those on the other side of the net and her own body. The 28-year-old american suffers from endometriosis, a painful disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterine cavity. It is estimated that every tenth woman is affected by it. In addition, the diagnosis is usually an accidental finding and is often only made after a long ordeal.
This was also the case for danielle collins. It wasn’t even a year ago that she was in agony in melbourne. The pain in her abdomen was so severe that she writhed on the floor during the game, could only continue playing in tears, and had to serve from the bottom of the stairs. Numerous doctors had dismissed her pain over the years as regular pain and prescribed anti-inflammatories. With little success: "that was the worst pain i ever had," collins said.
Two insidious diseases
Endometriosis cannot be cured, but it can be treated well. In april 2021, collins had a cyst the size of a tennis ball removed from her ovaries, along with other tissue from her bladder and intestines. It was a liberating blow. For the first time in years, collins is pain-free.
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Because endometriosis is not the only insidious disease that affects her everyday life. Four years ago, she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that causes very painful swelling in the joints. The former number one in the world, Caroline Wozniacki, is also living with this diagnosis. Rheumatoid arthritis cannot be cured, but it can be controlled with medication.
Danielle collins plays without pain for the first time in years.
Grotesque as it may sound, danielle collins is chronically ill. It is all the more astonishing that she has reached the final of a grand slam tournament for the first time after a 6:4, 6:1 victory over iga swiatek (20, WTA 9) from poland at the australian open. At the age of 28, she also breaks into the top ten of the world rankings for the first time. Since her operation in april, the late bloomer, who only turned pro at 22 and previously played college tennis, has also won her first two tournaments, in palermo and san jose. She is currently only in her fourth season with the tenniskarawane.
In the final, danielle collins will have to face not just two, but three opponents. because there she will meet ashleigh barty. Not only is she the number one player in the world and a two-time grand slam winner (paris 2019 and wimbledon 2021), but she is also australian. Her games are sold in her home country as "party barty". It’s also clear which role danielle collins sees herself in on saturday: that of the party crasher.
on her way to the final, barty dropped just 21 games in six matches. She won her sets 6:0, 6:1, 6:1, 6:1, 6:2, 6:3, 6:4, 6:3, 6:2, 6:0 and now in the semifinals against madison keys 6:1, 6:3. 25-year-old barty becomes the first australian to reach the final of the australian open since wendy turnbull in 1980. The last time a local woman triumphed was in 1978 with christine O’neill.
Ashleigh barty advances to the final of the australian open without any problems.
Ashleigh barty is just 5’6" and plays like the antithesis of most of her competitors, including collins. There is no shot she can’t master, on the backhand side she relies on the slice, despite her size she is considered to be one of the best serveers. For two years now, barty has topped the world rankings without interruption.
Whether it’s barty or collins – whoever lifts the trophy on Saturday, it’s going to be a feel-good story. Exactly what the australian open had hoped for after the turmoil in the run-up to the event.