Danielle Collins remained in good spirits despite losing in straight sets to Madison Keys and being booed during her arrival on court at the Australian Open.

On Thursday, Collins blew kisses to the raucous crowd in Melbourne after defeating Destanee Aiava, the last Australian left in the women’s singles draw, in the second round.

However, the 31-year-old was outdone by her American counterpart Keys, who beat her 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 23 minutes.

“I feel like people take life way too seriously sometimes,” Collins said post-match.

“Somebody was telling me in our sport the average age of people watching and the fans is 65.

“We need to kind of bring some entertainment to the game. I think we can try to make jokes and laugh. I don’t have a big ego when it comes to this.

“Honestly, I don’t care what’s written about me. I don’t care what some guy living in his basement is writing on the internet.

“I’m just trying to have fun and enjoy my life.”

Collins postponed her retirement from tennis due to ‘fertility problems’ from endometriosis at the end of last season and was the tournament’s 10th seed.

Collins reiterates – ‘I embrace the boos’

Following her victory over Aiava, Collins said the one-sided crowd helped to challenge her and pushed her over the finish line.

The American repeated this point and said she arrives at every match with the same mentality regardless of who her opponent is.

“I feel like I approached the match similar to how I played Aiava and matches before,” Collins added.

“I just go out and compete as hard as I can even if I am playing my friend. We’re used to it at this point.

“I expected that [boos] obviously. That’s fine. As I said, I really do enjoy playing in these types of environments. It’s what you worked so hard for your entire life as a kid. I embraced it.

“I thought overall it was good and it got me fired up at times. It got us into the match and got both of us focused.”

‘He called me a brat – it’s just so Gen Z’

Collins received some backlash on social media after she cupped her hand to her ear and blew kisses at the crowd in her second-round victory, saying: “One of the greatest things about being a professional athlete is the people that don’t like you and the people that hate you. They actually pay your bills.”

Novak Djokovic also applauded Collins’ behaviour, saying he was a fan of her before but is now a bigger fan.

Collins also took aim at critics who had labelled her a “brat”, saying: “I haven’t been on social media that much, to be honest. I have somebody that helps me run my page.

“I love this old guy, I just love how he called me a brat.

“It’s just so Gen Z [Generation Z] and millennial right now with Charli XCX. I really want him to do the dance [to the viral song Apple].

“I’m not a perfect person but in the past used to think: ‘Oh, if I do something this person might not like me’.

“I think with age comes an attitude where I’m going to accept who I am and just go for it.

“I think a lot of people as they evolve and grow, whether you play professional tennis or not, you kind of go through different challenges. That’s one that I feel like I’ve been able to really lean into and just get comfortable with.”

Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as the US Open, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or stream with NOW and through Sky Sports app.