Danielle Collins Finishes as Runner-Up at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia – Virginia women’s tennis alumna Danielle Collins advanced to the singles final of the 2022 Australian Open. It will be her first career appearance in a Grand Slam final.

Collins, the No. 27 seed in the draw, topped the seven-seed Iga Swiatek, 6-4, 6-1 in 78 minutes in Friday’s semifinal to advance to the championship match.  Collins’ previous best finish at a major was a semifinal run at the 2019 Australian Open.

She was edged 6-3, 7-6 (2) in the final by world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty.

Her run through the tournament also propels her to a top-10 ranking and makes her the current highest-ranked American player in the world on either the men’s or women’s side. Her previous career-best ranking was No. 23 which she reached in 2019 after the Australian Open. She came into the tournament ranked No. 30 in the world.

Collins played three seasons at Virginia, winning the NCAA Singles titles in her sophomore and senior seasons (2014 and 2016).  She was the 2016 Honda Sports Award winner for tennis and a candidate for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. The three-time All-American posted 101 singles victories in her time at UVA.

Collins has won two career WTA titles, the Palermo Open and the Mubdala Silicon Valley Classic, both in 2021.