Danielle Collins said Thursday she will return to the WTA Tour next year, a decision that comes nine months after she announced she would retire at the end of the 2024 season.
In an Instagram post Thursday, the world No. 9 said explained how her ongoing challenges with endometriosis, an ailment that affects the uterus, influenced her decision to prolong her career, noting “things have not gone to plan.”
Collins, 30, had previously said she wanted to retire so she could have children.
“In addition to managing some lingering health challenges the past few months, I’ve recently been seeing a handful of specialists to better understand what my best path forward is to achieve my ultimate dream, starting a family,” Collins wrote. “Dealing with endometriosis and fertility is a massive challenge for many women and something that I am actively traversing, but I am fully confident in the team I am working with. It is just going to take longer than I thought.
“So, the DANIMAL story has not reached its conclusion. I will be back on tour in 2025.”
After losing a three-set marathon to Iga Swiatek in the second round of the Australian Open in January, Collins told reporters the 2024 season would be her final one .
While she remained steadfast throughout the year about her decision despite repeated questions about her future, she played some of the best tennis of her career in the subsequent months. In March, Collins won the biggest title of her career at the 1000-level Miami Open. She followed it up by winning at Charleston the following week.
When speaking to ESPN ahead of the French Open in May, Collins said she was grateful to be able to leave the game while on top.
“I want to go out really playing on a high level, and I want people to remember me for the tennis that I was playing,” she said. “Some players are almost forced into retirement, due to an injury and then falling out of the top 100, and that defines the end of their career. This has been really empowering in the way that I’ve been able to make the decision to retire on my own terms and have the ability to choose. I could choose to continue to play, but I’m choosing to retire.”
She had publicly stated her desire to make her first Olympic team in her farewell season and did just that thanks to her surge in the rankings after the back-to-back victories. However, while in Paris, she suffered heat stroke and strained her abdomen and lost in the quarterfinals. She has played in only three…
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