By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday May 28, 2021
American Danielle Collins has been through the fire and then some in recent months. After years of struggling with an unknown ailment, she finally discovered the she was suffering from Endometriosis and had a cyst the size of tennis ball in her uterus.
“My doctor was adamant, she said I would be ready for the French Open but they had to tear through the abdominal muscles, so there was a lot of rehabbing involved,” Collins told Simon Briggs of the Telegraph. “They removed a cyst the size of a tennis ball from my uterus, as well as material from my bowel and bladder. But I’ve felt such relief since. And I’ve been more physically consistent in the last two weeks than I can remember: No missed practices or workouts, no flu-like symptoms.”
Collins, who has also been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2019, has been suffering for several years with endometriosis.
“At Wimbledon in 2018, I was walking to practice and I started having the sharpest pain in my lower back and stomach,” she told Briggs. “I actually fell over and I couldn’t get up. I had to have a cart to take me t transportation so I could get home. My hitting partner was looking at me, thinking ‘Is she being overdramatic, making a scene.’”
The American hopes to get back her groove on the tennis court now that she’s solved a big off-court issue. The 27-year-old World No.50 has not played a match since the Miami Open. Last year at Roland Garros she had a career-best performance, reaching the quarterfinals.
She will face Chinese qualifier Xiyu Wang in the first round.
“I know it might take me a bit of time to get back to consistent match play, but I love the game and I love the travelling. I want to have as long a career as I can,” she said.