I just told yesterday about the first career title on the professional Tour of Mary Stoiana, the No. 1 ranked college player and senior of Texas A&M, who won the ITF W75 - Edmond Open, defeating Alana Smith 7-5 6-3.
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American tennis is on the rise, after a few years of apparent decline after Serena Williams. Coco Gauff has already won a Major, there are Jessica Pegula, Peyton Stearns, Emma Navarro and Danielle Collins to form a high-level team. And yes, Collins will be on the court also in 2025, after early 2024, especially after the triumph at the Miami Open.
Daniellehad been quite categorical about retiring, but something - probably also the high level expressed during the season - made her change her mind. The incredible success obtained in Miami, the victory in Charleston and a series of important results have in fact characterized the year of the finalist of the Australian Open 2022.
Some physical problems have not allowed her to compete at her full potential in recent months, but the American has decided not to leave tennis, giving herself the opportunity to add other wonderful chapters in the book of her personal sporting history.
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"Hey everyone, I've been a bit absent the past few weeks so I wanted to give you an update. It's been a stressful time with these horrible hurricanes hitting Florida and on top of that I've been dealing with some issues with my endometriosis and other health challenges. While I was excited and eager to end my tennis career on a high note this year and jump into the next chapter of my life, things haven't gone as I planned. In addition to dealing with some ongoing health issues over the past few months, I've recently been seeing several specialists to figure out the best path forward for me to fulfill my ultimate dream of starting a family. Dealing with endometriosis and fertility is a huge challenge for many women, but I have full confidence in the staff I work with. It's just going to take longer than I thought. So DANIMAL's story hasn't come to an end. I will be back on the circuit in 2025. While there are no guarantees in life, I hope to build on the momentum of 2024 and continue playing until there is more certainty about my path. The only guarantee for now is that there will be more epic challenges. Thanks to all my fans, to the amazing people who have been close to me during this period and to my dearest friends on Tour who have supported me every step of the way," she wrote on Instagram.
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And I believe that her choice to compete in 2025, despite some physical problems that are also affecting her life outside the court, is a great demonstration of willpower and resilience. Something that many of her future young colleagues who compete incollegiate tenniscould draw inspiration from, to believe in their dreams and step up from collegiate tennis to professional tennis, just like Mary Stoiana has just done or as former Stanford Angelica Blake is about to do (here is our interview).
Danielle has an important collegiate background, as she played collegiate tennis at the University of Virginia and she won the NCAA singles title twice, during her sophomore and senior years, in 2014 and 2016. And she finished her career in Virginia as the top-ranked collegiate player.
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A bit like Emma Navarro, who played at Virginia, where she won the NCAA Singles Championship in 2021, later becoming the first women's singles NCAA champion to reach the US Open semifinals. Peyton Stearns also comes from college: in fact, she played college tennis for Texas, becoming the first Longhorns to become NCAA champion in women's tennis.
This is why the fact that Collins has decided to extend her professional career into 2025 is great news for American tennis, which is looking for new players ready to emerge from the fundamental preparatory bench that is the collegiate career.
