Danielle Collins fears for ‘critically ill’ dog she tried to save after it was hit by a car
Miami Open champion Danielle Collins has revealed she did her best to save a stricken dog after it was struck by a car and she is still concerned by his ‘critical’ condition.
Collins is making progress in her bid to defend the title she won in thrilling fashion in Miami a year ago, but her focus was inevitable taken off court when she saw the stricken dog on the side of the road outside the Hard Rock Stadium.
She felt compelled to stop and try to help, but is unclear whether the dog will survive despite her intervention.
“The other night when we were leaving the stadium, we saw this dog curled up in the middle of the road,” she said,
“He got hit by a car. I was like, we have to pull over.. we took him out of the street. He’s been in the hospital now for two days.
“We’re hoping to adopt him and take him home. Right now he’s in critical condition at the animal hospital.
“If everyone can say some prayers for my new pet… his name is Crash. Because he was in a car crash. Please guys, send good energy to my little baby.. that would be great.”
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Collins will be keen to get her focus back on the court for the rest of the Miami Open, with the 1,000 ranking points she collected from this tournament last year dropping off her ranking 12 months on.
That has seen the American drop out of the top 20 in the live WTA rankings, which is likely to mean she will face higher-ranked players earlier in future tournaments.
She can resolve that issue by enjoying a deep run in the Miami Open again, but admits her frustrations need to be controlled if she is to get the best out of her game.
“I feel like if I get frustrated in a way that’s thinking about how I can do better, then it’s a good thing,” she stated.
“If I’m getting frustrated like ‘Damn it you suck!’ That’s obviously not super helpful, but I still do it from time to time.
“You’d think at 31 at this point I would know better. Tennis can take you to some really weird places. You feel like you’re out on an island by yourself.
“That’s why having the fans out here to help us and to have these tournaments at home are amazing.
“It’s a long year and a lot of tough matches and ups and downs. All of us tennis players at this level are such perfectionists. We’re hard on ourselves and it comes out sometimes.”
Collins was not expecting to be back in Miami to defend her title a year ago, as she stated hr intention to retire from tennis at the end of the 2024 season.
That decision was reversed after her impressive form last year and the feisty American remains a threat to all players at the top of the women’s game as she looks to climb back up the WTA Rankings.
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