A cameraman was getting a little too up close and personal during Wednesday’s women’s tennis match between Danielle Collins and Emma Raducanu at the Internationaux de Strasbourg.
In the midst of a tightly contested battle, tied at three games a piece in the deciding third set, the two opponents entered a changeover where they switch sides and take a two-minute rest.
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But Collins got into a heated altercation with a cameraman for being too close to her during the break.
“I need to get water. We’re on a changeover. You don’t need to be that close to me, and you don’t need to be on top of Emma,” Collins said while angrily giggling as the cameraman stepped back. “It’s like wildly inappropriate.”
She added while pouring water into her bottle that it is “not that difficult to give space.”
Danielle Collins tells the cameraman to go away during their third set changeover. X, @TheTennisLetter
Collins may have used that interaction as extra fuel, though.
She immediately followed it by taking three straight games to win the third set and the match 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Anything for some extra motivation if it will work like that for Collins.
Danielle Collins said that the cameraman was getting too close to her and her opponent during Wednesday’s match. X, @TheTennisLetter
Danielle Collins said it was “wildly inappropriate” to be so close to her during their break. X, @TheTennisLetter
“I think to be good at anything, self-expression is really important. There’s not too many successful people in the world that feel like they can’t be themselves,” Collins said after the win over Raducanu. “I think you have to be yourself, and I’m a competitor at the end of the day. I’m not meek and mild. I’m not someone that is going through life quietly, and I want to succeed. I know what it takes to succeed, and at this level, you have to compete and this is what competing is about. It’s about bringing the energy, showing positive emotions, sometimes showing negative emotion and being upset with yourself, but then trying to work through those moments.”
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Collins is about as brash a tennis player as you will find. Her fiery on-court demeanor has drawn comparisons to John McEnroe.
Danielle Collins taunts the fans in Australia. Getty Images
Danielle Collins loves poking fun at rowdy fans. Getty Images
At the Australian Open earlier this year, Collins taunted the crowd after defeating Destanee Aiava, blowing kisses to the booing fans, making fun of the bystanders for being old, and defiently slapping her butt in front of the irate fans.
She added that anyone who was booing her and bought tickets to the event was actually donating to the “Danielle Collins Fund” and she was going to go on a five-star vacation as a result.
Collins now advances to the quarterfinals, where she will face Anna Kalinskaya.
