Push Admin

Danielle Collins of the US in action against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan during their women's final match of the 2024 Miami Open tennis tournament, in Miami, Florida, USA, March 30, 2024. Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich, EPA-EFE

epa11252231 Danielle Collins of the US in action against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan during their women's final match of the 2024 Miami Open tennis tournament, in Miami, Florida, USA, 30 March 2024.  EPA-EFE/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH

Article (news)

2024 Miami Open tennis tournament

Agence France-Presse

<div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/171186494125112130834 (1).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Danielle Collins of the US in action against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan during their women&#x27;s final match of the 2024 Miami Open tennis tournament, in Miami, Florida, USA, March 30, 2024. Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich, EPA-EFE"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Danielle Collins of the US in action against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan during their women&#x27;s final match of the 2024 Miami Open tennis tournament, in Miami, Florida, USA, March 30, 2024. <em>Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich, EPA-EFE</em></span></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">MIAMI -- American Danielle Collins upset the odds to win the Miami Open title on Saturday, beating Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 7-5, 6-3 to claim her first WTA 1000 title in her final season on the tour.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The 30-year-old Collins, number 53 in the world, is the lowest-ranked woman ever to win the tournament, clinching her biggest career title in a two-hour triumph.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Collins announced in January that she will be retiring from the sport at the end of this year and her unexpected run to the final and victory over the world number four delighted the home crowd.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;I couldn&#x27;t think of a better way to win my first 1000 title. It means the world to me,&quot; Collins said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;The encouragement and support that I got, it was hard to hide the emotion because I think these are the moments that we live for and we don&#x27;t always get to have them. It was really special,&quot; she said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">While she insists that her recent run of form won&#x27;t lead her to reconsider her departure from the sport, Collins will rise to 22 in Monday&#x27;s WTA rankings.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">It was a disappointing second straight loss in a Miami final for Rybakina, who missed out to Petra Kvitova last year.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Both players looked strong on their serve in the early exchanges but Floridan Collins had to work hardest to hold her serve.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">She saved four break points as she hung on for 4-3 and showed resistance again to deny a break point at 5-5 with a brilliant backhand winner after a long rally.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Collins broke at the end of the first set, capitalizing on a third break point to win the set when Rybakina went long.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Then the momentum shifted heavily in Collins&#x27;s direction when she broke Rybakina&#x27;s first service game of the second set.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The 24-year-old Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, responded, breaking back at the first opportunity.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Neither player was able to truly dominate, but Collins struck the decisive blow when she broke to go 5-3 up as Rybakina at full stretch on the baseline went long.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The American had not defeated a top five player since a win over then-world number two Paula Badosa at San Diego in October of 2022.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Perhaps it was inevitable then that Collins showed nerves at the end as she struggled to serve out, denying two break points and finally clinching on her fourth championship point.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/3/26/top-seed-swiatek-exits-miami-with-gauff-after-upsets-1243"></a><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/3/26/top-seed-swiatek-exits-miami-with-gauff-after-upsets-1243">READ: Top seed Swiatek exits Miami with Gauff after upset</a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/3/20/tennis-rallies-around-sabalenka-at-miami-open-after-boyfriend-s-death-1802"></a><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/3/20/tennis-rallies-around-sabalenka-at-miami-open-after-boyfriend-s-death-1802">READ: Tennis rallies around Sabalenka at Miami Open after boyfriend&#x27;s death</a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><strong>- Hanging in there -</strong></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;It&#x27;s hard,&quot; Collins said. &quot;You&#x27;ve got the crowd supporting you and pushing you to close it out and they wanted me to win so bad. It was like playing in front of my best friends and I didn&#x27;t want to let the crowd down and it was tough.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;Elena does not give up and she just kept slinging those shots right and left, I just had to hang in there.&quot;</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Rybakina had missed out on Indian Wells due to a gastrointestinal illness and said that with four of her five matches in Miami en route to the final having gone to three sets, she was not in peak condition.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;I was feeling the body, of course. Also, it was not [an[ easy tournament, because the first matches I was playing quite late, finishing, and then I was going to sleep around 2:00, 3:00. Then some matches were during the day. So the schedule was also up and down, and recovery, it doesn&#x27;t help, for sure,&quot; she said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;I had a lot of tough matches. Some of them went my way with a bit of luck here and there. This one didn&#x27;t, and of course I was not expecting to be fresh in this final, and she played really well,&quot; she added.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Collins becomes the first American woman to take home the Miami Open title since Sloane Stephens in 2018 and the sixth overall, also joining Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, three-time champion Venus Williams and eight-time champion Serena Williams.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The previous lowest-ranked women&#x27;s champion was Kim Clijsters, who was ranked 38th when she won the title in 2005.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JhajnuH-r0Y?&amp;ab_channel=ABS-CBNNews&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>American Danielle Collins upset the odds to win the Miami Open title on Saturday, beating Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 7-5, 6-3 to claim her first WTA 1000 title in her final season on the tour.</p>

American Danielle Collins upset the odds to win the Miami Open title on Saturday, beating Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 7-5, 6-3 to claim her first WTA 1000 title in her final season on the tour.

Tennis: Collins beats Rybakina to win Miami Open

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Sports

Tennis: Collins beats Rybakina to win Miami Open

Agence France-Presse

Published Mar 31, 2024 02:08 PM PHT

Read More:

abssports

tennis

Miami Open

Elena Rybakina

Danielle Collins

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.