Danielle Collins reacts to Australian Open fans booing her

On By Littum

When the crowd booed American tennis player Danielle Collins at the Australian Open, she hit them back.

Collins, 31, kissed the jeering crowd when she defeated Australian home favorite Destanee Aiava, 24, at Melbourne Park on January 16.

The tennis star also egged on her opponents by dramatically holding a hand to her ear.

Danielle Collins
Danielle Collins gives a sassy response to the crowd’s boos. Robert Prange/Getty Images

At one point she shouted right back at the villains, grabs a microphone and yelled, “Thanks, everyone! Thanks guys, love you!”

Collins later shared clips of those moments on her Instagram story, set to the songs “Look What You Made Me Do” by Taylor Swift and “Savage” by Megan Thee Stallion.

With her latest win at the Australian Open, Collins advanced to the third round of the Open and will face American tennis player Madison Keys on January 18.

After the game, Collins told reporters she loves to feed off the energy of the crowd, “regardless of which side they’re on.”

She said all the booing only made her more determined to win.

“I’m thinking, ‘Well, if I’m going to be out here for two and a half hours and find myself with all these people, I might as well take the bigger paycheck, right?'” she said. “And I was super happy to do that.

“It’s kind of a cool concept, and obviously my professional career isn’t going to last forever, so I remind myself every day when I have things like, they pay my bills,” she also said. “Every person that bought a ticket to come out here and fool me and do what they do, it all goes to the Danielle Collins foundation, so yeah, bring it on. I love it.”

Collins earned $290,000 Australian dollars, or just under $180,000 US dollars, for making it to the third round, according to Reuters.

When asked what she intended to do with her winnings, Collins said the money would go towards a holiday with her friends.

“I can guarantee you the check will go towards our next five-star trip, hopefully to the Bahamas,” she said. “We like boats, we like big boats, we like yachts … We write about it and let you know how it goes.”

Collins also reflected on why audiences turned on her in the first place. She said it was understandable because her opponent was a home favorite and people “wanted her to win.”

During the press conference, Collins also asked if she would mind playing the “pantomime villain”, to which Collins replied: “Good luck trying to get under the skin of someone who really doesn’t care.”