In her farewell season on the WTA Tour, Danielle Collins is determined to make a memorable exit by clinching another title after her impressive run to the semi-finals of the Charleston Open.
Ranked 22nd in the world, Collins, who recently secured her first Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open, continued her winning streak by defeating Elise Mertens 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals on Friday, marking her 11th consecutive victory on the tour.
The 30-year-old, a former Australian Open finalist, revealed her decision to retire from professional tennis in 2024 to pursue starting a family back in January.
"This is my last year, and I want to go out with a bang and just play my best tennis and do the best that I can," the American told reporters.
"I think you’re always striving to play your best tennis, and sometimes it works out really well, and other times you hit bumps in the road. I think earlier in the year, and even towards the end of last year, I was playing really great tennis and had some close matches.
"Now I'm kind of dealing with those situations when the sets get closer a little bit better, and I feel like I'm also doing some things in the beginning of the matches, too, where I get off to a good start, and that's working in my favour."
On Saturday, Collins will take on Maria Sakkari, the third seed from Greece, in the semifinal.
(With Reuters inputs)
