TENNIS star Danielle Collins has opened up on her experience of dealing with vile sexism and misogyny in her career.
The American, 31, has won four career titles and reached the final of the Australian Open Grand Slam.
But in a candid interview on the podcast, Reign with Josh Smith, Collins has spoken out about some of her previous experiences, including being labelled a “b****” by fans and being subjected to inappropriate behaviour from “weird men”.
The former world No7 has been outspoken on the subject of abuse women have received in the sport.
She revealed how whenever people have seen her getting upset on the court, fans never truly know the full picture of what has happened.
Collins says that whenever she voices an opinion on a situation, it is because she has reached “boiling point” after sitting on it for a “very long time”.
The Florida native explains: “And you know, a lot of the people that are watching sports and watching TV they only get to see a small clip of what takes place.
“They see me getting upset with the cameraman. They don’t see everything that led up to why I got upset…
“It definitely seems like when you’re a female, if I use my voice and I push back and I ask a question or I set a boundary or even if I don’t set a boundary, and I just simply make a request for personal space it’s like, how dare I, like I don’t have the right to respond or I’m crazy.”
Collins highlights one example of when a cameraman “made out” with the side of her face after asking her for a hug.
She explained: “I had a situation a bunch of years ago when I first got on tour and I was dealing with a cameraman that was very persistent.
“And I remember I came off the court, I lost a long three set match, I’m kind of like cramping, I’m tired and all the things are happening.
“And this guy goes, ‘oh, Danielle, you know, I’m so sorry. Can I give you a hug?’ And I, I look at my coach, I’m like, ‘uh, sure.’
“So I’m like, standing like this and he goes in to hug me and then all of a sudden he goes in to kiss me and I’m like, ‘oh no, oh my gosh.’
“And he literally starts making out with a side of my face.”
Collins adds that people often don’t see behind the scenes interactions with “weird men” who show up at events before stalking them and following them to their hotels.
British No1 Emma Raducanu was the victim of a terrifying stalking case which saw her burst into tears on court at the Dubai Tennis Championship in February.
The 22-tear-old hid behind the umpire’s chair as the “fixated man” was removed by security after she spotted him just two points into her game.
Raducanu’s former coach Roman Kelecic, claimed the man previously stalked her in Singapore, the UAE and Qatar and had even given her a letter and asked for a photo in a coffee shop the day before.
He was handed a restraining order from Dubai police while his name was also circulated among tennis authorities before it was revealed in June that the sick man had applied for tickets to this year’s Wimbledon.
Collins spoke about stalking issues for tennis stars last year, saying it was something many people outside of the sport weren’t even aware of, with the tennis pro telling The Telegraph how she doesn’t really go places without security detail.
But no matter how much these issues need highlighting, Collins will still be the victim of insults.
However, Collins actually takes great pride in being insulted, believing that being called a “b****” is often directed at women she “loves and respects”.
Collins says: “When somebody says that, ‘Danielle Collins is a b****.’ I kind of just take it as a compliment because so many of the women that I love and respect have been labelled as a ‘b****,’ and they’re a badass woman.
“There are women that get s*** done. There are women that go
after their dreams. There are women that are assertive, powerful, hardworking and they are people that I strive to be.
“So I feel like being a b**** can actually be kind of like a good thing
because it also means you’re not afraid to back down when someone’s being a jerk.
“It means that you’re not afraid to be yourself, and you’re okay with not being liked and you’re gonna be confident regardless of what other people think about you.”
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