The American tennis star, Danielle Collins recently shared a shock when revealing a bad incident that happened to her in the early days of joining the WTA Tour: A filming staff deliberately forced her right after a match.
Joining Podcast “Reign with Josh Smith”, Danielle Collins not only recounted this scary experience but also strongly condemned the discrimination and disdain for women still existing in professional tennis village.
The story happened a few years ago, after Collins ended a stressful three matches. As soon as she left the pitch in a state of exhaustion, she was filmed by a movie “for a hug”. Without a doubt, Collins agreed reluctantly, but immediately the man tried to kiss his face violently.
“He began to 'misleading' on one side of my face. I was completely shocked,” Collins recounted. “People cannot see those things behind the scenes. No one knows the bizarre men who follow us to the hotel, or the obscene words we receive.”
In addition to the above incident, Collins also mentioned personal experiences when faced with a gender attitude in sports, especially criticisms targeting her straightforward personality.
She was “stoned” by a part of the fans because of the conflict with the world's No. 3 player Iga Swiatek, whom she once called “false” after both encountered each other in the Paris Olympic Games. After that match, Collins said that Swiatek proved “not sincere” when asking her when she had abdominal pain and had to give up halfway. “There are many people who show a type on the camera, but they are completely different in the dressing room,” Collins emphasized. “I don't need that lies.”
Collins also objected to the way the media and some viewers given her nicknamed the “sour woman” just for the strength and dare to speak frankly: “When someone calls me a 'unpleasant woman', I consider it a compliment. Because the women I admire are called like that.
With the courage to share sensitive issues that not everyone dares to speak, Danielle Collins not only condemns misconduct in the sports world but also adds strength to many women in and in the field.