World No. 9 Danielle Collins has postponed her plan to retire from tennis at the end of the 2024 season, and will play on the WTA Tour in 2025.

Collins, 30, has taken advice on her “personal fertility journey” since her last match, which was a defeat to Australian qualifier Olivia Gadecki at the Guadalajara Open in Mexico. The American, who planned her retirement around starting a family while managing her endometriosis, which can impact fertility, said in a statement posted on Instagram: “I’ve recently been seeing a handful of specialists to better understand what my best path forward is to achieve my ultimate dream, starting a family.

“Dealing with endometriosis and fertility is a massive challenge for many women and something that I am actively traversing, but I am fully confident in the team I am working with. It is just going to take longer than I thought.

“So, the DANIMAL story has not reached its conclusion. I will be back on tour in 2025,” she said.

After reaching the quarterfinals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she retired with an abdominal injury against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, Collins lost four consecutive matches in her comeback. After a surprise reverse to compatriot Caroline Dolehide at the U.S. Open, Collins said in a news conference that her life away from tennis was impinging on her ability to execute on court.

“I have honestly just had so many distractions away from the court,” she said. “Just going through life’s challenges and coping with it.”

Up until that rough summer, Collins had played one of the best seasons of her career, returning to the WTA top 10 and winning 15 matches in a row between March and May, which brought titles at the Miami and Charleston Opens. But that too brought struggle, as she repeatedly fended off questions about why she would retire when she was playing so well.

“I’ve loved what I’ve done and the opportunity and the doors it’s opened, but it’s not easy, and I am a homebody,” she told The Athletic in Miami in March, before she won that title against then-world No. 4 Elena Rybakina.

For now, she’s back to tennis. Collins is currently in the U.S. squad for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga, Spain, which will take place from November 13 – 20.

Analysis: How will Collins manage her unexpected return?

Analysis from tennis writer Charlie Eccleshare

For those present at what appeared to be Collins’ final news conference at a Grand Slam, back at the U.S. Open in August, this news comes as a big surprise. Back then, Collins was exhausted, feeling unwell and looking fully ready to say farewell to professional tennis. She finished by tailing off and saying: “Yeah, sorry, I’m a little bit out of gas. I got a little tired.”

A U-turn at that point seemed unlikely, but here we are, and Collins’ approach and results next year will be fascinating. Her excellent form in the early part of 2024 seemed to be inspired in part by the liberation of knowing that she wouldn’t be doing this for much longer. Next year will she be reenergised by doing something she thought was going to be in her past, or might she struggle for motivation having already made peace with retirement?

The most important thing is the “fertility journey” that Collins referenced in her social media post. A challenge that so many women face, Collins’ openness will inspire a lot of people, and everyone in tennis and beyond will be hoping that she can can stay healthy and find the motivation and energy that left her on that sad Tuesday in New York earlier this year.

(Top photo: Shi Tang / Getty Images)