Danielle Collins was criticized by some tennis fans on social media for discussing her dispute with Maria Sakkari at the National Bank Canadian Open (Omnium Banque Nationale) in Montreal five days after it happened.
World No. 48 Collins faced eighth seed Sakkari in the Round of 32 at the WTA 1000 event last week, where the American took a surprise straight-set victory over the Greek, winning 6-4, 6-2.
However, it is remembered by many for a more sinister reason, as an argument took place between the two players during the match. The dispute occurred in the second set after Sakkari missed his first serve. Collins hit the ball back to his opponent, and Sakkari proceeded to vent his frustration by hitting the ball on the ground.
The ball came back and went towards the crowd but didn’t hit anyone. Collins asked the umpire if they had seen the incident, to which Sakkari replied:
“It didn’t even hit anybody. It was on the ground.”
Collins responded by telling Sakkari to ‘shut up [her] chin’:
“Shut your mouth. Shut your mouth,” he said.
Sakkari then asked Collins what his problem was and repeated that the ball didn’t hit anyone as he aimed it at the ground.
Five days later, Collins shared some highlights of his time at the Canadian Open, where he reached the quarter-finals, on his Instagram story. However, fans took issue with the fact that he posted a clip of his match against Sakkari accompanied by the song ‘Back Off B**ch‘ that Guns N’ Roses.
Some fans took to social media to show their disapproval of the post.
“He looks like a 15 year old kid,” wrote one Twitter user.
Meanwhile, another asked why the 29-year-old still ‘complained’ about the drama after 5 days.
“He ends up winning the game, and the actual drama is irrelevant, literally has no depth, is absurdly rude, and is still complaining 5 days later… What’s iconic here exactly?” they commented.
“There’s absolutely no reason to call your partner an innocent ab**ch,” another added.
However, others defended Collins’ post, with one Twitter user saying:
“Actions speak louder than words, what Sakkari did was appalling and the greater reaction to how Collins responded to it compared to what Sakkari did says a lot about priorities.”
Collins is now preparing to play in the Western & Southern Cincinnati Open this week, where she will face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the Round of 64.
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