US tennis star Danielle Collins has announced that she is set to drop a new line of merchandise online after she was labelled a ‘brat’ at the Australian Open for bragging about her eye-watering winner’s cheque.
The 31-year-old dropped the news that she would be collaborating with fashion brand Richsport on her Instagram account on Wednesday and was pictured wearing a T-shirt that read: ‘Play tennis, cash checks. Repeat.’
Collins also stated that proceeds of the sale of the fashion line would go to a woman’s equity fund.
She modelled an orange T-shirt from the new clothing line that was printed with the above-mentioned phrase at what appeared to be a luxury villa.
She was also called ‘iconic’ by some fans on X, after she appeared to blow audience members a kiss, before spinning around and slapping her behind, before walking away.
Collins attracted the ire of some Australian fans at Melbourne Park in January during her second-round victory against home favourite Destanee Aiava.
US Tennis star Danielle Collins has announced a new line of merchandise as part of a clothing collaboration with fashion brand Richsport
Collins stated that part of the proceeds would be given to a women’s equity fund
The pair played out an enthralling match at the Kia Arena, but Collins appeared to become incensed by some members of the partisan audience who had heckled her.
The tournament’s 10th seed, who had reversed her decision to retire from professional tennis last year, had proceeded to blow a kiss to fans inside the stadium before slapping her backside, as she appeared to bite back at hecklers inside the stadium.
The controversial moment didn’t end there though, with Collins subsequently being booed in her post-match interview on the court, before slamming fans inside the Kia Arena for being ‘super drunk’.
Collins, though, sarcastically thanked fans for coming out to support her before stating that she was going to use her ‘big fat paycheck’ to take her friends on a five-star holiday.
‘During the match I was like, while I’m out here I might as well take that big fat pay-check,’ Collins said while being booed in her on-court interview.
‘We love a five-star vacation, so a big part of that will go towards that.
‘So thank you guys, thanks for coming out here and supporting us tonight. Thank you guys, love you.’
She later doubled down on those comments revealing to reporters during her post-match press conference that she was going to take her friends on a luxury holiday to the Bahamas.
Collins (pictured) caught the ire of some Aussie fans at the Australian Open following her match against Destanee Aiava after she hit back at spectators after they heckled her
The American claimed that some fans inside the stadium were ‘super drunk’ before stating she would spend her paycheck from the tournament on a vacation to the Bahamas
Collins said: ‘Well I’m going to be here for two hours, putting up with all these people, I might as well take the bigger paycheck, right?’
‘I was super happy to do that and one of the greatest things about being a professional athlete are that the people that don’t like you and that hate you, they actually pay your bills.
‘It’s kind of a cool concept and obviously, my professional career is not going to last forever and I just remind myself every day when I have that kind of stuff that they’re paying my bills.
‘Every person that has bought a ticket and has come out here to heckle me can do what they do. It’s all going towards the Danielle Collins fund. So like, yeah, bring it on I love it.’
She added: ‘Me and my girlfriends we love a five-star holiday so I can guarantee that next check is going to go towards a five-star trip, hopefully to the Bahamas.
‘We like boats. Big boats. We like yachts. Yeah, we’ll post about it and let you guys know how it goes.’
Naturally, the comments weren’t well received in Melbourne.
Aussie sports presenter Tony Jones told 3AW Drive offered his opinion of the US tennis player, stating: ‘My view is she’s a brat.
Collins (right) was later knocked out of the Australian Open by eventual winner Maddison Keys (left)
‘When you get people like Danielle Collins who lives this (lavish) lifestyle and then rubs our noses in it… I thought it overstepped the mark.’
Some fans had even made a cheeky change to her Wikipedia page, which read: ‘Danielle Rose Collins is an American professional tennis player who became the laughing stock for an entire nation with her loss to Madison Keys in the 2025 Australian Open tennis grand slam tournament.’
Collins, meanwhile, held true to her word and took her friends on a stunning holiday to the Bahamas.
She posted a reel of the trip on Instagram, posting a clip of her and friends spending time on a simply stunning beach as well as a luxury hotel room from her tropical getaway.
Collins has not featured on the WTA Tour since her third-round exit against Women’s Singles champion Madison Keys at Melbourne Park.
The 31-year-old is due to return to the court for the first time since the Australian Open at Indian Wells and will take on Hailey Baptiste on Friday.
