Australian Open: Classless American tennis villain Danielle Collins slammed for ‘embarrassing’ antics

American tennis villain Danielle Collins has been slammed for her “embarrassing” antics towards a passionate Australian Open crowd after barely managing to beat a hometown underdog.

The Florida-born world No.11 was taken the distance by Australia’s newest tennis hero, Destanee Aiava, forced to close out against the world No.165 in a deciding third set at Melbourne Park on Thursday.

Australian fans are famously parochial at the tennis, and they rallied behind Aiava, who has been bravely open with her mental health battles that very nearly cost the 24-year-old her life.

The crowd began to turn on Collins when she took an unsportsmanlike injury timeout to halt the Australian’s momentum, just before Aiava was set to serve for the second set.

The passionate fans on Show Court Arena rallied behind their homegrown battler and responded angrily to Collin’s poor-taste tactics, heckling the entitled American and exacting a classless and petty response.

After finally beating the plucky Australian to book her spot in the third round, Collins jumped around the court blowing aggressive kisses and even tapped her butt in an approximation of telling the crowd to “kiss it”.

She didn’t halt there, though, taunting the crowd in her post-match interview and claiming she was only there for the prize money.

She doubled down on those comments by giving reporters details of her planned “five-star” holiday with friends on a yacht.

Her antics are a stark contrast to other top US players, who have pledged their winnings to the victims of LA’s devastating wildfires, but did garner support from former Australian player Casey Dellacqua who claimed having villians was “good” for tennis.

“I don’t know about you guys but I didn’t mind seeing it,” the Aussie said.

“Like every good movie or TV show there needs to be a villain and I think it’s actually good for tennis.”

Collins has won just four career titles since turning pro in 2016, two of which came last year after declaring 2024 would be her last season before backtracking due to her success.

“You know, I was thinking during the match, I was like ‘, hmm, if I’m out here, I may as well just take that big, fat pay cheque,” she told the host broadcaster.

“Coco (Vandeweghe) and I just love a five-star vacation, so part of that cheque is going to go towards that, so thank you guys.

“So thank you guys, thanks for coming out here and supporting us tonight.”

Vandeweghe, a former tennis player herself, was in Collins’ team box for the match.

This is not the first time Collins has made headlines with her antics.

At the Kooyong Classic in 2024, she called 16-year-old rising star Mirra Andreeva into the net like a naughty school kid to try and make her slow down between serves because the then 30-year-old was tired.

Collins even has an active feud with world No.1 Iga Swiatek after claiming the Polish star lacked sympathy after Collins was forced to pull out of their Olympics clash with an injury.

The United States’ top male star Taylor Fritz said donating his Australian Open winnings to fire victims was “really the least I can do”.

However, despite having already won more than $9 million in her career and $10,000 in the first three weeks of 2025, Collins had no sympathy for the wildfire’s victims, shamelessly stating the fans were paying for her to lounge on yachts in the paradise of the Bahamas.

“One of the greatest things about being a professional athlete is the people that don’t like you and the people that hate you; they actually pay your bills. It’s kind of a cool concept,” she said during the official post-match press conference.

“Me and my group of girlfriends, we love a five-star vacation, so I can guarantee you that cheque is gonna go towards our next five-star trip, hopefully to the Bahamas.

“We like boats, we like big boats, we like yachts. So yeah, we’ll post about it and let you guys know how it goes.”

She even went as far as insinuating the fans, who she had earlier called “drunk”, were stupid for heckling.

“All I have to say is, like, good luck pissing somebody off or getting under the skin of someone that literally doesn’t give a... can I say it? I mean, seriously, good luck trying to get under the skin of somebody that really doesn’t care,” she said.

“I loved it. I’ve been doing this my whole life. I love playing in a crowd that has energy, regardless of what side they’re on. I’m somebody, too; it kind of just motivates me even more. So it’s kind of a good thing, especially when I’m not playing that well.

“So I think it really helped me in the end. Just helped me concentrate more and challenged me at times. (It) pushed me kind of through the finish line.”

Collins will face fellow American Madison Keys in the third round on Saturday.