Danielle Collins roars into Miami Open final, books championship clash with Elena Rybakina

Danielle Collins’ farewell tour is hitting new heights at the Miami Open, where the American has reached her first WTA 1000 final after knocking out Ekaterina Alexandrova, 6-3, 6-2 to book a championship clash with 2023 finalist Elena Rybakina.

"It's my home state!" Collins said with a smile during her on-court interview. "My dad said to me when I was a kid, I wanted to come here so bad, and he said, 'You're only going if you play in the tournament!' So, I had to make the tournament. I've had a couple good years here, but this is definitely the most memorable."

Collins announced 2024 would be her final season on tour after the Australian Open in January, and the revelation has been followed by some exceptional tennis from the fan favorite, culminating with a one hour and 15-minute win over the giant-killing No. 14 seed at the Hard Rock Stadium.

Alexandrova had been one of the stories of the tournament after scoring back-to-back wins over world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula, storming into her first WTA 1000 hard-court semifinal behind a brand of big-hitting that has quickly become a hallmark of Miami’s quick courts.

"I followed her matches this tournament and it was so fun watching her," Collins said. "We have a very similar game style, so it's tricky when it's like that. Because of that, I had to concentrate harder, had to react faster, and it really forced me to play at my highest level."

And indeed, the the 29-year-old’s power game met its match in the unseeded Collins, who has been ranked as high as No. 7 and has dismissed her share of power players through a wildly successful week in the Sunshine State. Playing at what she considers a home tournament, she made quick work of three seeds en route to the semis, including former world No. 4 Caroline Garcia in the quarterfinals.

She maintained that level against Alexandrova, keeping the Russian to just four winners and drawing 19 errors as she broke serve twice to take the opening set. She only got stronger in the second, opening with another break and powering to the finish line with a total 21 winners to 17 unforced errors.

Into her biggest final since the 2022 Australian Open, where she finished runner-up to then-No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, Collins will face No. 4 seed Rybakina for what would be the biggest title of her career.

"We've had a lot of tough battles, and that's what we play for, right? We want to have these matches. I think I actually did get a win on her in San Jose a while ago. Fingers crossed, I'll have to do my homework. She's been playing fantastic tennis, and another big hitter. So, I have to be ready."

Rybakina leads their head-to-head, 3-1, with Collins' lone win over the Kazakh coming in their first meeting in San Jose back in 2021.