Danielle Collins is retiring from tennis after this year, but she's soaking up Olympics

PARIS — Here’s a little window into why Danielle Collins has quickly become one of the more popular players in women’s tennis and why so many are disappointed that the 30-year old University of Virginia product is retiring at the end of this season.

At her warm-up session Sunday morning before beating Germany’s Laura Siegemund 6-3, 2-0 (retired) in her Paris Olympics debut, Collins noticed a group of fans from Ireland. This immediately struck Collins as unique: Because there are no WTA events in Ireland, and no Irish players ranked among the top 800 in the world, you just don’t see a lot of Irish fans around.

So she engaged with them. Come to find out, they wanted to watch her practice because of her last name – Collins. It’s been the same in the Olympic Village: Irish athletes coming up to her and commenting on her last name, which was passed down to her through an Irish grandfather.

"How cool is that?" Collins said. "So we got to talking and I made some new friends. And got the Irish pin – of course. It’s been really interesting to cross paths with athletes, Irish athletes, and to connect with them because I guess they’re really pumped that I’m also Irish."

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These kinds of little "Only at the Olympics" moments have provided an uplifting antidote for Collins to the slog and loneliness of life on the tennis tour – something she has talked about in the past as contributing factors in her decision to call it a career despite being ranked No. 9 in the world.

Of course, the most important reason is Collins' ongoing battles with rheumatoid arthritis and endometriosis, a condition that affects the uterus and can make it more difficult for women to get pregnant. Collins wants to start a family, and doctors have advised her to do it sooner rather than later, so she has had no second thoughts about retirement despite playing the best sustained tennis of her career.

And making the Olympic team was one of the biggest boxes she wanted to check before settling into so-called normal life.

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"I think it’s even more special when you’re an American getting the opportunity to do this because you don’t get to be on the Olympic team unless you’re, like, in the top-15 in the world, right?" said Collins, whose pride was on display with an Olympic ring pendant on the necklace she was wearing Sunday. "It’s incredibly special, and for me it’s special because I’ve known these women for so long. I’ve known Jess (Pegula) since we were teenagers, I’ve known Des (doubles player Desirae Krawczyk) since we were 10 years old playing national tournaments together and I’ve known Coco (Gauff) a good part of her life because I met her when she was very young. And then Emma Navarro, also being from UVA, is incredibly special.

"I talk about it endlessly but the camaraderie we share is just something really special. It’s been so nice in my final year I’ll get to have these memories forever."

She’ll also have pins. Lots and lots of pins.

Collins, who enjoys travel and new cultures, has been big on the pin-trading scene building "a network" of collectors through her friends on the WTA Tour to get as many countries as she can. She’s currently hunting Somalia and Saudi Arabi, so if you’re in Paris and see Collins around town, maybe try to help her out.

"It’s such a unique thing that I’ve never experienced and it’s gotten SO intense," she said. "I have about 40. My goal is to get to 100."

Of course, there’s also a tennis tournament to play – and one that her powerful baseline game will give her a chance to make a run in. Though Poland’s Iga Swiatek is the overwhelming favorite here as a four-time French Open champion at this venue, an in-form Collins is the kind of player who could make her uncomfortable in a potential quarterfinal matchup.

That focus on making sure she’s giving this her best shot is why, for example, she didn’t get on Team USA’s boat during the opening ceremon y because she wanted to make sure she was well-rested for her Saturday morning match (it ultimately got rained out and moved to Sunday). It reminded her of the disappointment of having to miss her college graduation because she was playing in the NCAA championships.

"Ultimately, like, we’re here to try to get medals, right?" she said. "There are tough decisions that you sometimes have to make as an athlete."

After this, Collins is going to return to the U.S. and get ready for one final run in her home country before the season ends – and one that will highlight just how much tennis fans have gotten to know and appreciate her despite being kind of a late bloomer on the tour, breaking through to the Australian Open final in 2022 as a 28-year old. The two biggest titles of Collins’ career have come this year, winning the Miami Open and Charleston Open in the spring.

"I haven’t been on tour that long compared to a lot of other athletes," she said. "But the fan base that I feel is huge. And the amount of people that come out to my matches and support, and seeing those familiar faces over the years is one of the most special things that you’ll get to experience as a professional athlete, and something I feel like when I enter into kind of a more normal life will be very different. So I’m just trying to take it all in and enjoy it as much as I can while it lasts."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Danielle Collins is retiring from tennis after this year, but she's soaking up Olympics