Danielle Collins drew the scorn of the Australian Open crowd on Thursday, as she blew kisses and boasted about her ‘big fat pay check’ after enduring boos from the crowd en route to beating Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava.

But those who have followed Collins’ career will know the 31-year-old is not afraid to be outspoken.

The world No. 11, known to her devoted fans as the ‘Danimal,’ has clashed with the likes of Iga Swiatek and Maria Sakkari.

And after arguably the best season of Collins’ career in 2024 – which she initially said she would be her last –  the St. Petersburg, Florida entered Melbourne with big expectations.

So what else is there to know about Collins?

Retirement U-turn

While the Aussie Open fans loudly booed Collins after she cupped her hand to her ear following her second round win, this didn’t look like a tournament she would be part of a year ago.

In January 2024, Collins announced that the forthcoming season would be her last on the WTA tour, as she cited her desire to have children.

Collins is in a relationship with biotech executive Bryan Kipp.

Following that announcement, Collins produced perhaps her best season as a pro, winning 15 matches in a row at one point and winning her first WTA 1000 title at her hometown Miami Open.

She also claimed the title in Charleston and reached the fourth round of Wimbledon – the best finish of her career – and qualified for the USA Olympic team in Paris.

Naturally, that form raised questions on whether Collins was actually about to walk away from the sport, and she said in October that she would return for the 2025 season.

In an Instagram post , Collins said that starting a family would take ‘longer than I thought’ as she was battling fertility issues and endometriosis, which affects the uterus.

‘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,’ she wrote. ‘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.’

Feuds with Iga Swiatek and Maria Sakkari

Collins has been engaged with a rather one-sided feud with former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek since the Paris Olympics, where the pair faced each other in the quarterfinals.

Collins retired from the match in the third set because of an abdominal injury, and ripped Swiatek for being ‘insincere’ about her injury when they spoke on the court after the match, she said.

‘There’s a lot that happens on camera. And there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma … (who) are one way on camera and another way in the locker room,’ Collins told reporters after, via AP .

‘I don’t need the fakeness.’

Collins said the injury stemmed from cramping and dehydration and that she ‘nearly collapsed’ after exiting the court following the previous match.

Swiatek, meanwhile, would express bemusement to the Polish press as to why Collins had a problem with her.

‘I’ve never done anything unkind in her direction,’ she said. ‘I don’t know what she meant. I wanted to congratulate her on a successful career, because it’s her last year on tour. ‘We’ve never even had any interaction that would have caused that.’

Collins’ distaste for Swiatek continued into the United Cup earlier this month, as she looked unimpressed as the pair shook hands in line before the final between the USA and Poland.

The American even changed her Instagram profile picture to a screengrab of the moment.

Collins also clashed with former world No. 3 Sakkari at the 2023 Canadian Open, when the latter hit a ball off the ground and into the stands in frustration.

The American then asked the umpire if she’d seen what happened, while Sakkari replied that she didn’t hit anyone.

‘Shut your mouth,’ Collins said back.

Chance meeting with boyfriend at Wimbledon

While Collins is known by some as one of the top tennis players in the world, her now-boyfriend had no idea who she was when they first met.

Collins was in London after playing in Wimbledon when she and Kipp met at a coffee shop.

‘He didn’t know anything about tennis, and he didn’t know I was a tennis player, which was really nice,’ she later told the Tennis Channel .

‘He was actually a bigger fan of golf and so he said, ‘Well I really like golf. I don’t really know much about tennis.’ And I was like, ‘Yes! That’s so exciting.’

Kipp also has a background in sports, as he played football in college for Columbia University, but Collins claimed that she was the ‘jock’ in their relationship.

‘He has gotten me on the golf course, and I’m so competitive,’ she added. ‘I hate losing to this guy. Love him to death but hate losing to him,’ Danielle Collins added.

Kipp is frequently in Collins’ support section, including during her win at the Charleston Open, and he was seen cheering her on at Wimbledon last summer as well.