"I found myself crying daily" - Danielle Collins turns emotional, opens up about 'dreading' her time at French Open with questions about retirement

Danielle Collins was relieved to get a short break from tennis after a hectic schedule. After playing nonstop for the past six months or so, the American athlete intends to devote more of her attention to her personal life away from the demands of competition.

Collins did not have a memorable time at the French Open, as she crashed out in the second round after losing to Olga Danilovic. Collins does not have a lot of tennis left ahead of her, as she will retire from the professional level at the end of the season.

The 30-year-old, however, had some reasons to cheer for after she secured her berth in the Paris Olympics to be held from July 26. In a detailed post on Instagram, Collins said that while she enjoyed playing tennis over the last few months, questions around her retirement have taken a toll on her mentally.

“This pumped about finally getting a break. After 6 months of playing a tournament almost every week, I can finally take some time to relax and recover. In the beginning of the season, it was a goal of mine to qualify for the Olympics. It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to make it happen. I am very proud of my success over the last six months. With all of the attention around my retirement at the end of the year, the last couple weeks have been really challenging for me,” Collins wrote.

“I have found myself playing some of my best tennis but I have also found myself really dreading going into work and crying daily. The conversations with media around explaining my health challenges, being asked over and over again to justify my success, and constantly being questioned about retiring and wanting to start a family have been really draining,” the 30-year-old added.

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"I will be back feeling refreshed"- Danielle Collins

Collins’ qualification for the Olympics was in danger as Emma Navarro was still in contention to win the title at Roland Garros after Collins was knocked out of the clay-court. But after Navarro lost to World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round, Collins, along with Madison Keys, sealed their Olympic berth from the USA, along with Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula.

Collins, who won the Miami Open earlier this year with a win over Elena Rybakina in the final, said that she would be focusing on her health and well-being on her time away from the game.

“I will be pampering myself with some self-care over the next few days. I’m feeling really happy to finally get to enjoy some of my favourite activities and be reunited with Mr.Q I will be back feeling refreshed and recharged for grass court season,” Collins said.