Tennis Star Danielle Collins Praises Serena Williams for Her Tennis Comeback: 'She Is the GOAT'

Danielle Collins — who has won four singles titles, including a WTA 1000 title at the 2024 Miami Open, and one doubles title — was thrilled to see Serena Williams back on the court for the U.S. Open.

"I competed with Aryna Sabalenka on court. I love how she wears her heart on her sleeve. I love how honest she is. I love how much fun she has and how she gets so many people interested, not just in tennis on the court, but the lifestyle around tennis. I just think she’s such a great person for our sport. I’ve always been a huge Serena fan, so seeing her back on the court has been great, especially since she’s announced that she’s going to be playing with Venus at the U.S. Open. That’s incredibly special," the tennis star, 32, exclusively told OK! while talking about her Fresca Hard™ collaboration in New York City.

"At Fan Week, I mean, how many times are we ever going to see Novak Djokovic and Serena on the court together? It’s not that often, but we got to see it this week at the U.S. Open. That was pretty exciting. So yeah, those are some of the ones I look up to the most," she said of the legends.

When Williams announced her return to tennis earlier this year, Collins wasn't the least bit surprised.

"I mean, with the success that Serena has had through the course of her career and her legacy, I think at this point she has every right to come back and play for the love of the game, and it just shows you tennis is a lifelong sport. I feel like earlier on, when we look back at different tennis players, they were retiring in their late 20s, sometimes mid-20s, and now we have players playing into their 40s. I think this is such a great thing for society in general because I think there is a big push for the focus on the tennis prodigies who are younger, and there are only a few people that have that kind of superhuman success to them," she explained.

She added, "I think what we’re seeing now on tour is more people having success a little bit later in life, and we’re highlighting that and celebrating that success because, let’s face it, most people’s best years aren’t at 18 and 19 years old. They’re well into their 30s, 40s, 50s, and I think by the Williams sisters still playing, it shows that you can kind of achieve anything and there’s success to be had later in their careers as well."

Collins shared it's been amazing to see tennis players "having success later on in life."

"Serena was somebody that I think I looked up to a lot when I was younger, but also as I got older, because she was somebody that was still winning Grand Slams when she was like 34 or 35, 36. Most people aren’t having their best success when they’re 18 years old. But for Serena, she had her incredible success at that age too, and as she got older," she said. "She is the GOAT."

Collins, who has not officially retired but is currently inactive from the WTA Tour after delaying her retirement plans and taking an extended break, has stayed booked and busy lately.

"I think getting to enjoy tennis for what it is. I think you get to hear about so many cool stories. I’ve been working with Tennis Channel this year, and that’s been incredible. Getting to know the players’ games a little bit better too. I know most of these players, but when you’re analyzing and you’re looking at stats and that kind of thing, you’re just thinking about tennis differently," she said of her new venture.

"I feel like being here in a different capacity, there’s something kind of special about it. I’m doing a lot of things that I haven’t gotten to do before, like hosting an event, working on the philanthropy side, helping a few charities out that are near and dear to my heart, and then getting to work with companies that I feel like are in alignment with my brand and that we can create more fun, positive enthusiasm around tennis and just get people interested in tennis and in the game," she added.

For Collins, this time period has been "interesting," as she's gotten to dabble in other experiences besides playing tennis.

"I have done so many different things this year, especially being behind the mic. I went to college for four years and graduated with a media studies degree, so I kind of always had in the back of my mind thinking about maybe working in TV and getting to be a tennis analyst — and what a great opportunity it’s been with Tennis Channel, getting to work with them and learning a new skill. I feel like when you’ve done something for 10 years — and, for me, I kind of reached the highest I felt like I could get with my career — now I’m kind of doing something I’m familiar with in terms of tennis, but I’m also learning so many new skills," she explained.

"So yeah, it’s humbling at the same time, working on different things, thinking about things that I never really thought about when I was playing and just trying to educate myself as best as I can, too, so that I can teach people more about tennis in a way that resonates with them and so that people can understand tennis better and feel invited into the sport, and also keep it fun. I feel like that’s the thing. I can talk about stats. I can break players’ games down. I can tell them about their stories. But at the end of the day, I want to try to keep things fun for the tennis fans and get more people feeling good about the tennis community and having a good time," she added.

Collins said she can "see herself doing it all."

"I like to think of myself as a dynamic person, I guess. I like being behind the mic. I like being on the philanthropy side of it. I got into tennis as a kid because of a grassroots program. This week, being able to be part of a charity event in Harlem that facilitates high-level coaching and tutoring for free for kids in that area is so, so special because I was a part of a program like that when I was a young junior, and I wouldn’t have been able to get into tennis if it wasn’t for having access to a program like that. So the philanthropy side has been something that’s been really special to me because I just feel that’s where I can do the most meaningful work and have the most impact, and just getting to see the smiles on the kids’ faces and seeing them grow their love for the game," she said.

"Like I said, tennis is a lifelong sport. Whether you play in high school, for fun, you play college, pro, whatever it is, you can play the rest of your life. I know 90-year-old women that still play at the country club with their friends. How many sports can you do that? So no matter what you do, so many of my friends that I played college tennis with, a lot of them are still working in tennis and getting to be involved in sports and the opportunities that the sport can open up for players. It’s so special. So being able to be on that side of things and have more time for it, since I’m not playing tournaments right now and competing is hard, I think that’s been something that I’ve been most excited about, honestly. I love being behind the mic, but I really like trying to do meaningful work too. That’s been fun," she continued.

Collins recently appeared at the billboard demo at Astor Place for both on-site sampling of Fresca Hard™, to experience its ice-cold, zero-sugar, 99-calorie, full citrus flavor.

"Today’s all about having fun, bringing people together and having a lot of fun around the tennis. Fresca is a bold brand. I have a bold personality and a little bit of attitude, so I feel like the two of us have a lot of fun together. And yeah, we just love having a fun time," she said at the event. "Well, for me, it’s great because it’s gluten-free and it’s sugar-free. I’m always trying to be health-conscious as much as I can, and to have something under 100 calories as well, you can enjoy it and not have to worry about putting something terrible into your body."

She added, "This is kind of a unique opportunity. The years that I was competing, I was so focused on getting out there and performing. This has been unique because I get to make more friends, I get to help bring the community together and just focus on the enjoyment of the game and having fun. That’s what this is all about."