A born entertainer, Danielle Collins adds a new stage to her repertoire in 2026

👉 This week, we're putting the spotlight on our sport's unsung heroes. You can read about more of them here.

Danielle Collins in 2025, by the numbers

• Wins/Losses: 15-14
• Grand slam record: 5-4
• Australian Open: 3R
• Roland Garros: 2R
• Wimbledon: 3R
• US Open: 1R
• Titles: 0
• Finals: 0
• Year-end Ranking: No. 64

Why she may have been overlooked in 2025

Danielle Collins has always loved an encore.

“I love theater,” she told me back in May during the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. “When I was at UVA, I was one course away from having theater as my double major.”

Collins long embraced stylism through her years as a competitor, becoming a camp hero among fans for mixing a brash on-court persona with a self-effacing sense of humor. Danielle Collins, to be sure, was always in on the joke.

"Through reading and theater, my mind goes to difference places. This world can be so, so isolating, but through my creative spirit, I can see life through different lenses. I think that’s part of the reason why I’m so open and laidback, because I take that time for myself."

Her favorite show is CATS, and like the characters in the once-longest-running Broadway production, Collins appeared ready to take her career to the Heaviside Layer at the end of 2024. Instead, she extended her wildly successful farewell tour—one in which she captured her first WTA 1000 title in Miami and returned to the Top 10—and played strong tennis well into the spring of the following season.

Our conversation happened a day after a stunning win over defending Rome champion Iga Swiatek, one that didn’t feel particularly close against the most dominant clay-courter of the decade.

Injuries ultimately slowed the American down in the second half of the season, the former world No. 7 shutting down her season after a strong run at the US Open’s revamped mixed doubles.

Why she may be someone to watch in 2026

While that could have been Collins’ final bow, the American does not appear to be completely done with tennis quite yet, opting to forgo the first half of the season to complete a series of fertility procedures—a step towards her ultimate goal of starting a family.

“You will be seeing me in a different capacity with @tennischannel 🎤” Colins teased on Instagram. “More updates to come 😉”

On the court and off, Collins can put on a show, and the 2026 season looks to provide another stage on which the born entertainer can perform.