As the tennis season inches toward its conclusion, the drama is far from over. With the Asian Swing already in the picture, fans are eagerly awaiting to see how the final tournaments will unfold. But amidst the excitement, a wave of withdrawals from star players has cast a shadow on the remaining events. And the latest name to bow out is none other than American powerhouse Danielle Collins. But, the timing couldn’t be worse for the American star and raises significant doubts over her season ahead.
The American sensation announced her withdrawal from the China Open citing illness. This comes just days ahead of the tournament that will take place in Beijing from September 23 onwards. However, with Collins playing the last season of her career, the implications of her decision to remain out of the WTA 1000 tournament can be quite serious. They pose a major threat to her qualifications for the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
Collins is currently placed at the No. 8 spot in the race for qualification for the WTA finals, which will take place from November 2. But with the tournament featuring only Top Eight players, the risk that lies ahead of the American player is high given her recent withdrawal. Remember, the qualification cut for the tournament is 5605, where Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have already secured spots for themselves. Besides, Barbora Krejcikova’s win at Wimbledon would fuel her chances for the qualification, leaving behind a tight contest between Collins, Emma Navarro, and Qinwen Zheng.
Remember, while Collins currently stands at 3178 points, Navarro and Zheng have amassed 3568 and 3070 points respectively. Interestingly, Collins is not the only player to have withdrawn from the WTA tournament in Beijing, and joining her is the World No. 1 Swiatek.
For the unversed, the Polish sensation took a similar decision on Friday and decided to remain out of the tournament owing to personal reasons. She had also withdrawn from the tournament in Seoul and has continued to remain out of the tennis courts after the US Open. Coming back to Collins, it would be interesting to see if her withdrawal would impact her desire for the season.
When Danielle Collins opened up about her desires for the season
Danielle Collins is playing the last season of her career and will soon hang up her racquets due to personal and health reasons. But challenges have not ceased for her even in the final year and has returned in the form of withdrawal, which thereby might impact her desire for the final season of her glorious career.
Speaking after her win at Miami this year, Danimal opened up about her expectations. “I’m going to enjoy every minute of this. This is my last year, this is my last season, and these are some of my final events. I want to remember these moments,” she said. She also expressed that she does not want to quit the sport with unfulfilled dreams and regrets.
For now, it would be interesting to see if she can overcome her illness soon and get back on the tennis courts. Will Danielle Collins be able to play in the WTA finals? Well, only time will tell but the tennis enthusiasts would definitely expect her speedy comeback.
