In Their Shoes: Danielle Collins targets Roland Garros return

On April 1, Danielle Collins shared on her Instagram account that she would be out of action indefinitely, after opting to have surgery to address her endometriosis. While certain activities were limited following the procedure, the current No. 45 is upbeat about the progress that's been made.

“I have been recovering pretty well. I’ve been able to start training again,” Collins shared in the second episode of her In Their Shoes series. “I haven’t been able to really do any running or twisting. So I’ve just been able to do my strength training, which has been great.”

The problem surfaced at the start of the season in Australia. Collins endured excruciating back pain, so agonizing at one point that she found herself lying on the court crying.

“I was in so much pain that I didn’t know what was going on. But I knew something wasn’t right,” she said. “This was all because of the endometriosis. That was another reason why I wanted to have the surgery right away was to make that I would be healthy enough to have kids in the future.”

The 27-year-old, who last played at the Miami Open, anticipates being ready to make her return at Roland Garros. Last year, when the Paris major was staged in September and October, Collins made a surprise run to the quarterfinals. The American won a trio of three-setters, which included a stunning comeback over 2016 champion Garbine Muguruza.

“The biggest takeaway from last year was just being more creative on court,” Collins reflected. “I wasn’t using as much variety before, [or] playing with more shape. I think that was a bit of an adjustment with my aggressive game style.

“I hope that I can go back there and who knows, maybe win the French Open one day.”