Danielle Collins has become known for being a feisty character and not afraid to stand up for herself. And that certainly came across in her second round clash at the 2025 Australian Open in Melbourne against home favourite Destanee Aiava. The American was roundly booed by a hostile crowd following her victory in a controversial match.

The 10th seed clashed with fans on several occasions during her 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 triumph.

“Shut up!”: Danielle Collins clashes with fans in Melbourne

During the first game of the second set, Collins felt spectators had failed to stay silent as she was serving at 15-30 down, telling them to “shut up!”. That led to jeers from sections of the crowd, and to Aiava securing a crucial break as she went on to to take the set.

The atmosphere was tense from that moment onwards, with Collins adding fuel to the fire by blowing kisses to fans after winning certain points.

The 31-year-old closing out the match in the third set was greeted by loud boos from all around the court, which Collins responded to by cupping her ears Hulk Hogan-style and blowing more kisses to the stands.

Collins brings Coco Gauff into provocative post-match interview

The jeering continued throughout her post-match interview, which the American again reacted to in provocative fashion.

“I was thinking during the match, if I’m out here, I may as well take that big, fat pay check. Coco (Gauff) and I love, we LOVE, a good five-star vacation, so part of that check is gonna go towards that, so thank you, guys, thanks for coming out here. Thanks for supporting us tonight”.

Her “thank you, guys, love ya!” sign-off endeared even further to those in attendance, although a good number of those watching and listening on did appear to find her “performance” amusing.

Collins sets up all-American third-round clash

The Floridian will take on compatriot Madison Keys in the third round of the 2025 Australian Open and we can probably already guess which player will have most of the fans’ backing…

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