Danielle Collins is puzzled that her request to a cameraman for personal space and the subsequent fallout of the incident have been likened to “the offense itself.”
Addressing the viral encounter that took place this month at Internationaux de Strasbourg in France, Collins called the discourse surrounding the matter “really pathetic” as she expanded on her perspective Monday at Roland-Garros.
“I think what happened in Strasbourg is just me asking for personal space at my work place. I don’t know why that is even a topic of discussion, frankly,” the American said after a first-round win over Britain’s Jodie Burrage, as covered by The Tennis Letter.
“It should be something that we can get to have during, like, our work. The fact that I’ve had to ask so many different times in my career and during different matches to just have an adequate level of personal space is kind of strange. I think often times it seems like my response is treated like the offense itself. I’m learning that as a female, asking for personal space seems to be an issue for a lot of people. I think it’s really pathetic, honestly, that it’s even a topic of discussion.”
When competing against Emma Raducanu at Strasbourg, Collins instructed a cameraman to step back as she rested during a changeover, where she and her British opponent switched sides.
“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,” said Collins, who added, “It’s like wildly inappropriate.”
Collins said of the footage of the incident, “There’s so much people don’t see.”
“They don’t see the person go and stand right on top of Emma to get a good shot of me in about a two- to three-foot space. I’m doing a performance job. I’m trying to focus on my work. I’m trying to maintain my focus and concentration. My job requires channeling physical, emotional and then logical things going on. It’s my job to kind of put that all together. The last thing I should be focusing on is someone that’s right on top of my opponent and right in my face. It’s just really unnecessary,” she continued.
Collins, who defeated Raducanu in three sets, then questioned where the line is drawn overall.
“I think that man was trying to do his job, but where do you draw the line? I don’t necessarily think it was creepy. But I think we should all be able to say, like, ‘Hey. I would like some physical space.’ You go to different tournaments, and you ask nicely most of the time. You ask politely. That doesn’t get reported on. But the time I get upset about at it, that response is treated as the offense itself. And that’s what I find most interesting about it,” she said.
Collins has made it clear she isn’t “meek and mild,” and is unapologetically herself through it all.
Shortly after her win over Raducanu at Strasbourg, Collins — currently ranked No. 54 in the world — spoke about carrying that mindset into her matches.
“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,” she said earlier this month.
“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.”
Collins will next face Serbia’s Olga Danilović in the second round of the French Open.
The 31-year-old’s best finish at Roland-Garros was in 2020 when she reached the quarterfinals.