WATCH: Danielle Collins hits back with a wry smile to sea of boos welcoming her back to Australian Open after controversial celebrations

Danielle Collins entered the Rod Laver Arena amid a sea of boos ahead of her third-round match against Madison Keys at the 2025 Australian Open. The American's controversial celebrations after her second-round win against home favorite Destanee Aiava drew the ire of the Melbourne crowd, who Collins was involved in a back-and-forth with throughout the match.

Collins and Aiava played a thrilling second-round match but it was the former, who ended up winning the three-set thriller. Following her win, the 31-year-old did the 'cupping ear' celebration, blew a flying kiss, and did the 'kiss my as*' celebration. However, her back-and-forth with the crowd didn't end there as she angered them even more during her on-court interviews with her 'fat paycheck' comments.

As she made her way to the Rod Laver Arena for her third-round match against 19th seed Madison Keys, Danielle Collins initially waved to the crowd but upon realizing that she was being welcomed with boos, the 10th seed hit back with a wry smile.

Though many in Melbourne have taken umbrage to Collis' behavior, Novak Djokovic, on the contrary, has explicitly stated that he enjoyed the American's behavior and became her 'big fan'.

"They're paying my bills" - Danielle Collins on being unfazed by the negativity from the crowd

The American's celebrating her win - Source: Getty

While addressing the controversy during her post-match press conference, Danielle Collins said she dealt with the negativity by reminding herself that it was the crowd booing her who paid her bills.

"One of the greatest things about being a professional athlete is that the people that don't like you, and the people that hate you, they actually pay your bills," Collins said. "It's kind of a cool concept. And, you know, obviously, my professional career is not going to last forever, and so, I just remind myself every day, like, when I have that kind of stuff, 'they're paying my bills'."

She also quipped how every ticket a fan bought to heckler was adding to the 'Danielle Collins fund'.

"Every person that's bought a ticket to come out here and heckle me or, you know, do what they do, like it's all going towards the Danielle Collins fund," she added.

Continuing her thoughts, Collins also hilariously added:

"All I have to say is good luck pissing somebody off or getting under the skin of somebody that literally doesn't give a (f***)… can I say it? (laughs)"

Against Madison Keys, however, Collins did not have the best day, falling 4-6, 4-6 after taking a short medical time-out in the second set.