"Love him to death but hate losing to him" - Danielle Collins on her and boyfriend Bryan's competitiveness as they trade tennis and golf interests
Danielle Collins has shed light on her competitive dynamic with her boyfriend Bryan, as they take an interest in each other's favorite sports.
Collins is through to the semifinals of the Charleston Open after a dominant 6-3, 6-4 win over Elise Mertens. She will battle it out against Maria Sakkari for a place in the final of the WTA 500 event, following the Greek's 6-2, 6-4 win over Veronika Kudermetova in the quarterfinals.
During her quarterfinal, Collins was supported by her boyfriend, Bryan, who traveled from Boston to cheer her on. Following her win, she disclosed that he had no knowledge about tennis or her profession when they first met in a London cafe.
Danielle Collins also revealed that she hadn't much time to give Bryan tennis lessons between his golf hobby, his work commitments and him supporting her at tournaments.
"We haven't had a lot of time on the court for me to like teach him because we just don't find enough time cause we're doing golf and he's also at my matches a lot and he's working," Danielle Collins said in an interview with the Tennis Channel.
Nevertheless, Collins outlined her plans to team up with him at USTA's husband-wife doubles tournament to compete for the coveted 'Gold Ball,' jokingly expressing concern about their relationship surviving the competition.
"But in the future, I'm hoping we'll play like the husband-wife doubles like the USTA, you play for the 'Gold Ball.' I explained to him that this is a big deal in the tennis world so hopefully that doesn't tear us apart," she added.
The 30-year-old shed light on Bryan's competitive nature, stemming from his college football days at Columbia University. However, she humorously maintained that she's still the "jock" in their relationship, as he was an engineering major in college.
"He is very competitive. He was a football player at Columbia. Very smart. Engineer major. So, I'm more kind of like the jock in the relationship, and he's definitely more of the cerebral one," she said.
Collins also shared that she has hit the golf course with her boyfriend, admitting that she hates losing to him due to her competitiveness.
"He has gotten me on the golf course, and I'm so competitive. I hate losing to this guy. Love him to death but hate losing to him," Danielle Collins added.
Danielle Collins on playing golf with boyfriend Bryan: "I want to at least to be able to hang with him because I'm so many shots behind him sometimes"
Danielle Collins went on to express her desire to improve her golf skills to match her boyfriend Bryan's level, emphasizing that she needs proper lessons to bridge the gap.
"I've got to really up my golf game and get some tips. I'm still waiting to do some lessons at some point," Danielle Collins said in the same interview.
"We just haven't had a lot of time, especially these last couple of weeks but I want to at least to be able to hang with him a little bit more out there because I'm so many shots behind him sometimes," she added.
Collins will set her sights on securing her second consecutive title after her triumph at the Miami Open as she takes on Maria Sakkari in the semifinals in Charleston.
Sakkari leads 2-1 in their head-to-head record, but the American claimed a 6-3, 6-2 victory at the 2023 Canadian Open. Should Danielle Collins triumph over the Greek, she will face Daria Kasatkina or Jessica Pegula in the final.