Danielle Collins, who reached the Australian Open final in 2022, said she's missing next month's Grand Slam event in Melbourne due to the back injury that prematurely shortened her 2025 season.
Collins hasn't played since losing to Romania's Jaqueline Cristian in the first round of the U.S. Open in August. She revealed earlier that month that she had a herniated disk in her back after losing to Taylor Townsend in the first round of the Cincinnati Open.
Collins said in her Instagram post that she is
also undergoing fertility treatments.
"I've been taking the last few months off to recover from the back injury I had at the end of the season," Collins wrote. "I've also been undergoing a few egg freezing procedures. It's been one of the coolest things I've honestly ever done! But at the same time these hormones I have had to be on are a real b****."
Collins went on a memorable Australian Open run in 2022 when she lost to Australian favorite Ash Barty in the final in what turned out to be Barty's last match due to retirement. Collins dominated Poland's Iga Swiatek in a straight-set semifinal win to reach the title match.
She earned her career-best ranking of No. 7 in the world in July 2022.
Collins also made a deep Australian Open run in 2019 before losing in the semifinals to Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic.
Collins, 32, enjoyed a banner 2024 season in which she had a 42-17 singles record and won the Miami Open and Charleston Open back-to-back, made the U.S. Olympic team and returned to the Top 10. She indicated during the season that she would retire following it but changed her mind late in the year.
Last season, Collins struggled with injuries and was just 15-14.
Collins didn't indicate a return timetable, saying "I will not be competing during the first part of the year."
Collins has been open about her battle with endometriosis, a condition in which the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus, causing painful menstrual cycles and fertility issues. She underwent emergency surgery in 2021 and had a tennis-ball sized ovarian cyst removed.
Collins was a two-time NCAA singles champion (2014, 2016) at Virginia before turning professional. She has won four WTA singles crowns with the victory in Miami ranking as the biggest.
--Field Level Media
