Danielle Collins goads fans after defeating home favourite Destanee Aiava at the Australian Open – Getty Images/Robert Prange
A “classless” Danielle Collins blew kisses to a hostile Australian Open crowd and thanked fans for helping her land a “big fat pay cheque” as she celebrated a win over home hopeful Destanee Aiava.
The American 10th seed also slapped her backside and cupped her hands to her ears after surviving a second set wobble to seal match point.
Collins’s 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 win over the unseeded Aiava ended Australia’s hopes in the women’s singles in Melbourne before she rounded on fans in a feisty on-court interview.
Responding to a chorus of boos from fans inside the Kia Arena, Collins said: “You know I was thinking during the match, hmm, if I’m out here I may as well take that big fat pay cheque.
“CoCo [Vandeweghe, Collins’s doubles partner] and I, we love a good five-star vacation so part of that pay cheque is going towards that. So thank you guys. Thanks for coming out here and supporting us tonight.”
The interviewer appeared to cut short the conversation, before Collins grabbed the microphone and continued to jeer the crowd, adding: “Thanks guys, love ya.”
Credit: X / @TheTennisLetter / @eurosport
Collins has already earned £147,000 in prize money by reaching the third round, where she will face compatriot Madison Keys.
The 31-year-old, who reversed her decision to retire at the end of last season, doubled down on her incendiary on-court comments in her press conference.
“Well I’m going to be here for two hours, putting up with all these people, I might as well take the bigger pay cheque, right?” said Collins.
“I was super-happy to do that and one of the greatest things about being a professional athlete are that the people that don’t like you and that hate you, they actually pay your bills.
“It’s kind of a cool concept and obviously my professional career is not going to last forever and I just remind myself every day when I have that kind of stuff that they’re paying my bills.
“Every person that has bought a ticket and has come out here to heckle me can do what they do. It’s all going towards the Danielle Collins fund. So like, yeah, bring it on, I love it.”
Collins says the haters pay her bills but her behaviour was branded ‘classless’ by fans on social media – Getty Images/William West
She then elaborated on her holiday plans, saying: “Me and my girlfriends, we love a five-star holiday so I can guarantee that next cheque is going to go towards a five-star trip, hopefully to the Bahamas,” she said. “We like boats. Big boats. We like yachts. Yeah, we’ll post about it and let you guys know how it goes.”
Several commentators criticised Collins on social media for the manner in which she mocked the partisan crowd, with one user describing her as a “spoilt brat.”
Todd Scoullar wrote on X: “Does Danielle Collins not realise she’s playing an Australian at the Australian Open? What does she expect the crowd to do? They’re going to support the home player. Get over it. Zero class from Collins tonight.”
Collins’s behaviour will court controversy given Aiava has openly spoken about her mental health struggles. The 24-year-old Australian considered taking her own life three years ago when she almost jumped from a Melbourne bridge and wrote “god motherf—— damn it c—” on social media minutes after her defeat.
She deleted the posts just over 30 minutes later, explaining: “I’ve been advised to delete my tweet but I screenshot it for memories.”
