Danielle Collins gives herself miraculous parting gift at Miami Open

Danielle Collins had never won a Masters 1000 before. The final of the Miami Open against Elena Rybakina was not easy either. Sure, Collins won in straight sets, but seemingly each game teetered back and forth with either player capable of stealing a point here or there. In the end, however, Rybakina simply made too many errors with her backhand and could not take advantage of 10 of her 11 break points.

Collins is going to retire after this year. She has stated as much and is ready. The wear and tear of playing professional tennis can be difficult for anyone. But Collins also has to deal with rheumatoid arthritis and endometriosis. Both issues are difficult enough in themselves, but for an athlete, they can be debilitating.

But Collins is not going to fade away; she is going to keep fighting until she refuses to do so. In fact, maybe that allows her to be a bit more relaxed in such massive matches as the one she played against Rybakina. She only has a match to lose, but she has memories to keep making and at the Miami Open, at least, the memory will be a happy one.

Danielle Collins wins the 2024 Miami Open

With the 7-5 6-4 victory over Rybakina, the No. 4 player on the WTA tour, Collins will move back up to No. 22. Her highest ranking ever was No. 7 in 2022, but there will probably be no win sweeter than the one she gained over Rybakina. Collins kept her poise and cool even in games that often went to deuce and a simple mishit here or there would have fully changed the outcome of the match.

She had only beaten Rybakina once before, but of the four times the two players had met, three of them had gone a full three sets. The final in Miami also felt as if it should have gone that way except for Rybakina's wild backhand.

But make no mistake Danielle Collins earned the win. She struck the ball with immense pace and while her adrenaline was obviously pumping, she still hit crossing shots at ridiculous angles. She might be leaving after this year, but she is making some great memories along the way.

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