Danielle Collins claims she ‘didn’t get a ton of credit’ for shock Iga Swiatek win

Oli Dickson Jefford 20 May 2025 4:24 PM

Danielle Collins and Iga Swiatek.

Danielle Collins has claimed that beating Iga Swiatek at the Italian Open was not as “fun” as she had hoped, with post-match reaction to the result largely centered around her opponent.

Collins produced arguably her best performance of 2025 to beat Swiatek 6-1, 7-5 in the third round in Rome, ending a six-match losing run in her head-to-head against the Pole.

It was the American’s first top-10 win of 2025 following a difficult start to 2025, and it was just the third time she had beaten an opponent inside the top two of the WTA Rankings.

However, the reaction after the match was mostly centred around Swiatek, who had been looking to defend her title inside the Foro Italico.

Defeat for Swiatek meant that the Pole was guaranteed to slip outside the top three of the WTA Rankings after the event, and she now finds herself down as the world No 5.

The Pole’s form has dipped notably in the past twelve months, with the 23-year-old failing to make a final since winning her fifth Grand Slam title at the 2025 French Open.

Speaking to Tennis Channel ahead of her Strasbourg International campaign, Collins candidly admitted that she felt that she deserved more “credit” for her performance.

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“Yeah, I thought I played really well against you know Iga, I didn’t get a ton of credit for it,” said the 31-year-old.

“Like after the match of course, you know, it’s just more about how poorly you know she [Swiatek] played and everything.

“But that can make it difficult to be able to celebrate your win sometimes, when you feel like you have a good match, or you’re playing well and it’s just like: ‘Whatever.’

“So yeah, I was happy about it, but yeah, dealing with that wasn’t, it wasn’t as fun as I imagined.”

After falling to world No 46 in the WTA Rankings after a challenging 2025 season to date, Collins is looking to find form in Strasbourg ahead of the second Grand Slam of the season at Roland Garros.

The American was a finalist at the WTA 500 event twelve months ago, falling to Madison Keys in the final, and began her 2025 campaign with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 victory over Sofia Kenin.

Collins will face an intriguing test against Emma Raducanu on Wednesday, with the winner potentially facing top seed Jessica Pegula in the quarter-final.

Meanwhile, world No 5 Swiatek is already in Paris ahead of her title defence, having been seen practising with world No 1 and top seed Aryna Sabalenka.

The Pole is looking to become the first woman in the Open Era to win four straight French Open titles, and win her fifth Roland Garros title overall.

However, things will be far from straightforward for the former world No 1, who will be drawn in the same quarter as one of the top four seeds.