Danielle Collins: A cameraman tried to kiss me after a match
Danielle Collins has shockingly revealed that a cameraman once tried to kiss her on the mouth after a tennis match.
The American, who has previously spoken out about the abuse levelled at women’s players and her experience of being stalked, said she reached “boiling point” after the incident, which happened when she was a young player at an unspecified tournament.
“I had a situation a bunch of years ago when I first got on tour and I was dealing with a cameraman that was very persistent,” Collins told the Reign with Josh Smith podcast. “And I remember I came off the court, I lost a long three-set match, I’m cramping, I’m tired and all the things are happening. And this guy goes: ‘Oh, Danielle, you know, I’m so sorry. Can I give you a hug?’
“I look at my coach, I’m like: ‘Uh, sure.’ So he goes in to hug me and then all of a sudden he goes in to kiss me and I’m like: ‘Oh no, oh my gosh.’ And he literally starts making out with a side of my face.
“People don’t see that like behind the scenes. They don’t hear the comments that sometimes people make towards you, they don’t see the weird men that show up to our events and stalk us and follow us to our hotels. So, yeah, sometimes you get to a boiling point.”
A passionate player who is not afraid to hide her views, Collins criticised a cameraman during her victory over Emma Raducanu at May’s Internationaux de Strasbourg tournament earlier this year for being too close during a changeover. The former world No 7 labelled his behaviour “wildly inappropriate” as both players changed ends during a third set.
Danielle Collins asks a cameraman to give her & Emma Raducanu space during their match in Strasbourg
"I need to get water. We're on a changeover. You don't need to be that close to me & you don't need to be on top of Emma. It's wildly inappropriate"
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 21, 2025
Collins, who reached the third round at this year’s Wimbledon before losing in straight sets to eventual champion Iga Swiatek, has always been one of the more straight-talking players on the women’s tour and has been open about her personal battle with endometriosis.
But she is also a character who divides opinion. She courted controversy for her “classless” on-court celebrations at this year’s Australian Open after beating home hopeful Destanee Aiava.
The American slapped her backside and cupped her hands to the crowd before sarcastically thanking them for their part in helping her land a “big fat pay cheque” following her second-round win. But she insists criticism makes her more determined.
“When somebody says that ‘Danielle Collins is a b—-’, I kind of just take it as a compliment because so many of the women that I love and respect have been labelled as a ‘b—-’ and they’re a badass woman,” said Collins.
“There are women that get s— done. There are women that go after their dreams. There are women that are assertive, powerful, hard-working and they are people that I strive to be. So I feel like being a bitch can actually be kind of like a good thing because it also means you’re not afraid to back down when someone’s being a jerk.”
