American Tennis Star Blows Kisses To Booing Australian Open Crowd, Thanks Them For Paying Her Bills

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American tennis star Danielle Collins was set to retire at the end of the 2024 WTA campaign, but in October she made a U-turn and decided to give it a go for at least one season. After the show she put on following her second-round win at the Australian Open on Thursday, you can't help but think how unbelievable she would be as a heel in the professional wrestling world.

While Collins may have been the favorite on paper entering her match, the pro-Melbourne crowd wanted to see Australia's Destanee Aiava pull off the upset against the No. 11 player in the world. After Aiava stole the second set to force a decisive third, Collins didn't let the 24-year-old hang around, winning the set 6-2.

READ: Danielle Collins Tells Maria Sakkari 'Shut Your Mouth' In Heated Moment During Tennis Match

Collins heard it from the Aussie crowd throughout the night, and just as Aiava hit a ball into the net to give the American the win, she put her hand to her ear and shouted "how about that" as she welcomed a barrage of boos.

She wasn't done there. Collins also blew kisses to the crowd before slapping her butt to really let the fans understand how little of a damn she truly gives.

The crowd continued to give it to Collins during her on-court interview, which the audio was played over the PA system, and the American went full-unfiltered mode by thanking the fans for buying tickets and paying her.

She thanked the fans for paying her bills again during a second post-match interview off the court as well.

"One of the greatest things about being a professional athlete is the people that don’t like you and the people that hate you, they actually pay your bills," Collins said. "It’s kind of a cool concept and obviously my professional career is not going to last forever, and so, I just remind myself every day when I have that kind of stuff, they’re paying my bills. Every person that’s bought a ticket to come out here and heckle me or do what they do, it’s all going towards the Danielle Collins Fund. Bring it on, I love it."

Collins' actions and words after her match will certainly add fuel to the idea that Americans are among the most arrogant people in the world, but a beautiful thing about being American is that we don't have to even act like we care about outside noise. And yes, I realize that statement is unbelievably arrogant.

Next up for Collins is a matchup against fellow American Madison Keys; maybe the Australian Open crowd will just boo throughout the entire match.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets, including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016, when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.