Danielle Collins Interview: Her Love for Doubles, Playing in an 80+ League, and Success at the Slams

This is a conversation with Danielle Collins from the 2023 Charleston Open where she and Desirae Krawczyk won the doubles title.

Danielle was a singles finalist in the 2022 Australian Open, a doubles semifinalist at Wimbledon that same year, and reached a career-high in singles of #7 in the world in 2022.

This episode is a little different because it’s the first time I’ve had a “singles player” on the show to discuss doubles.

Danielle and I discuss:

• Why Danielle is playing more doubles alongside her singles schedule, and how it helps her singles game.
• How playing in an 80+ doubles league as an 8-year-old helped her improve.
• Her 2022 Australian Open singles run compared to her doubles semifinal run at Wimbledon.
• Her experiences in college tennis where she played at Florida before transferring to Virginia (she won 2 NCAA singles titles there).

You will also learn why she loves the camaraderie in doubles, what she is working on, her favorite tournaments, a book recommendation, and how to make doubles more popular.

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Interview Notes from this Podcast

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• Follow Danielle: Instagram
• Related Podcast: Bob Moran Interview
• Her favorite things about singles and doubles
  • For her, singles requires more individual problem-solving but doubles teamwork feels better and causes fewer ups and downs.
  • Singles can be very rewarding, but she likes sharing the ups and downs with someone else.
  • She feels like her proudest moments have come playing doubles, but it is hard to play every week with her singles schedule.
• Her thought process in singles vs. doubles
  • At the start of her career, doubles was more stressful because she feared letting her partner down.
  • Eventually, she learned she wasn’t going to let anyone down and that helped.
  • She really thinks about each the same and wants to do her best, but doubles is a little more relaxed.
• How doubles has helped her singles
  • For juniors, she wishes there was more emphasis on doubles because it helps with life skills, college tennis, and generally creates more memories.
  • When she was eight, she played in an 80+ doubles league that helped her improve her volleys, transitions, variety, returning to spots, and the mental side of the game.
• Working on her transition game
  • She wants to start coming to the net more because she can finish points faster and more efficiently.

If Danielle Collins ever decides she wants to start going to the net after her 187mph backhand lands 2 inches from the sideline… the rest of the #WTA is screwed pic.twitter.com/AE9ZWbRIE3

— Will Boucek (@WillBoucek) March 1, 2023

• Her thoughts on college tennis and advice to her younger self
  • When she went to the University of Florida as a freshman she didn’t play much because of experience, so she learned to be physically and mentally stronger.
  • She was able to use those experiences at the University of Virginia to improve her game and also improve her shot selection.
  • She believes young players should look for coaches that believe in/support them, allow them to pursue non-tennis things, and are aligned with their goals/expectations.
  • She also understands that one’s intended major, family, and other circumstances play a role, and she believes a mentor can help with those decisions.
• Rapid Fire
  • Dream Doubles Partner: Ons Jabeur or Zhang Shuai
  • Book: Open by Andre Agassi or Golf is Not a Game of Perfect by Bob Rotella
  • Tournament: The 4 Slams (Australian Open, Wimbledon, French Open, & US Open), ATX Open, Miami Open