French Open star ‘cried every day’ as emotional statement penned | Tennis | Sport

Danielle Collins has admitted that she has been ‘crying daily’ due to her health struggles and gruelling tennis schedule. The US No. 3 is set to retire at the end of the year and is hoping to bow out by competing at the Olympic Games.

Collins announced in Melbourne earlier this year that this season would be her last on tour, and she has impressed since making her decision public by playing some of the best tennis of her career.

The world No. 10 landed titles in Miami and Charleston before reaching the final in Strasbourg, though she was ultimately knocked out of the French Open in the second round recently by Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic in three sets.

Collins has since taken to Instagram to open up on her recent struggles, writing: “After six months of playing a tournament almost every week, I can finally take some time to relax and recover. In the beginning of the season, it was a goal of mine to qualify for the Olympics.

“It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to make it happen. I am very proud of my success over the last six months. With all of the attention around my retirement at the end of the year, the last couple weeks have been really challenging for me.

“I have found myself playing some of my best tennis but I’ve also found myself really dreading going into work and crying daily. The conversations with media around explaining my health challenges, being asked over and over again to justify my success, and constantly being questioned about retiring and wanting to start a family have been really draining.

“It’s definitely exacerbated my feelings of being homesick, and with the craziness around rain delays and unfortunate match scheduling, I have not had much time to get to do the activities I enjoy away from the courts. My sleep schedule had been pretty erratic due to some matches that were finishing up really late at night, so that definitely didn’t help.”

Collins went on to thank her boyfriend, Bryan, for being so supportive over the past few weeks and providing her with the encouragement that she has required to keep improving.