Danielle Collins secures rankings milestone as Martina Navratilova makes ‘sneaky’ French Open prediction
The Danielle Collins winning machine rolled into the semi-final of the Internationaux de Strasbourg and with it came the big prize of a return to the top 10 of the WTA Rankings.
Collins is right up there with world No 1 Iga Swiatek as the most in-form player on the WTA Tour as she is now 22-2 in her last 24 outings after defeating Anhelina Kalinina, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 in the semi-final in France.
That is an incredible turnaround from last year as Collins finished the 2023 campaign with a 20–18 win-loss record.
The former world No 7 will take on her compatriot Madison Keys – who beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-1, 6-3 – in the final as she goes in search of her third title in the space of two months having won the Miami Open and Charleston Open.
“I was excited to come here after Rome and playing some great tennis on clay … having some great matches under my belt this clay-court season and playing some tough opponents,” Collins said.
“It was a tough battle. I definitely felt for her today, having to play two matches in one day … and I thought she did really well, moving well, hitting her shots well. I felt for her in the end, because I think the fatigue started to kick in a little bit. It’s sad when that happens, because she had such a great tournament.”
Rankings Boost
Collins is already assured of a return to the top 10, which will be her highest position since August 2022.
That is quite an achievement for someone who started the year at No 54 and appeared to be heading out of the top 100 after she dropped to No 71 at the beginning of February.
Victory over Keys won’t help her to climb higher than position 10, but a big opportunity will be waving at the French Open as she only has 10 points to defend after losing in the first round last year.
READ MORE: French Open: 5 key talking points from the women’s draw
Collins faces fellow American Caroline Dolehide in the first round while she could take on Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the fourth round and defending champion Swiatek in the quarter-final.
Tennis great Martina Navratilova admits those on Collins’ side of the draw will be worried.
“She would be my pick for a sneaky semi-final or final,” she told Tennis.com said. “I know I wouldn’t want her in my draw.”
But first there is the final of the WTA 500 Strasbourg event to focus on before she can start thinking about Roland Garros.
READ MORE: 2024 WTA prize money leaders: Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka out in front, Coco Gauff 6th
