Collins backtracks on retirement, to play on in 2025

American world No 9 Danielle Collins has changed her mind about retiring at the end of the season and decided to play on into 2025, the 30-year-old said in a social media post on Thursday.

Collins, nicknamed 'Danimal' for her aggressive style of play, announced she would be retiring at the end of the 2024 season to start a family after losing in the second round of the Australian Open in January.

"While I was very excited and eager to wrap up my tennis career on a high note this year and jump headfirst into my next chapter of life, things have not gone as planned," Collins wrote on her Instagram page.

"So, the Danimal story has not reached its conclusion. I will be back on tour in 2025."

Collins explained that she had been dealing with some health challenges over the last few months, including a diagnosis of endometriosis, and intimated that her plans to start a family had not proved as straightforward as she had hoped.

"Dealing with endometriosis and fertility is a massive challenge for many women and something that I am actively traversing, but I am fully confident in the team I am working with," she added.

"It is just going to take a little longer than I thought."

UNITED CUP TEAM

Collins was on Friday named in the United States team for the season-opening mixed team United Cup tournament in Sydney and Perth, strongly suggesting she will be at Melbourne Park for the year's first Grand Slam in mid-January.

It was at the Australian Open that she achieved her best result at a major when she reached the 2022 final, losing to the now-retired Ash Barty.

She enjoyed some success in 2024, winning titles in Miami and Charleston, but suffered heat stroke at the Paris Olympics and crashed out in the opening round of the US Open, where she declined a big send-off at Flushing Meadows.

"While there are no guarantees in life, I hope to build on my 2024 momentum and keep playing until there is more certainty around my personal fertility journey," she said.

"The only guarantee for now will be some more epic matches."