Miami
\nDanielle Collins is saving the best for last. Having announced in January that she will retire from the sport at the end of this season, the 30-year-old American has reached her first WTA 1000 Series final and will meet Elena Rybakina on Saturday for the Miami Open title.
\nOutside of a run to the final of the 2022 Australian Open, which she lost to Ash Barty, this is Collins\u2019s best performance in an elite level event and the Floridian, ranked 53rd in the world, is loving every minute of it.
\n\u201cThe memories made this week on and off the court, I\u2019m just over the moon.\u201d
\nThe question inevitably arises as to whether Collins, having indicated her departure from the tour, is now benefitting from a more relaxed approach to the game with the pressure off.
\nCollins isn\u2019t convinced that such a psychological element has been a factor because, she says, the life of a professional tennis player doesn\u2019t leave much opportunity for reflection. \u201cI just don\u2019t really have the time to kind of sit and ponder and get too deep into the thoughts, because honestly, the day-to-day with us as athletes is a lot. I feel like the fans don\u2019t get to see that as much,\u201d she said.
\nRybakina, fourth in the world, will start as the clear favorite, having shrugged off the illness that kept her out of Indian Wells.
\nThe 24-year-old, who represents Kazakhstan, has spent more than 11 hours on court with four of her five matches going the distance.
\nOn Thursday, she defeated Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (7\/2) and seems to have gained stamina through the tournament.
\n\u201cI was not expecting honestly to be in the final because I was not prepared that well for this tournament,\u201d said the 2022 Wimbledon champion.
\n\u201cThese long matches helped me to get back in shape. Now I\u2019m not in shape just because I\u2019m tired from all these long matches, but overall, it has been a really successful tournament no matter how I do in the final.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Miami Danielle Collins is saving the best for last. Having announced in January that she will retire from the sport at the end of this season, the 30-year-old American has reached her first WTA 1000 Series final and will meet Elena Rybakina on Saturday for the Miami Open title. Outside of a run to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-397562","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n