'Pantomime villain' tennis star says 'nobody got hurt' as she brushes off booing from crowd

US tennis prima Danielle Collins was booed by the Australian Open assemblage connected Saturday erstwhile she walked connected tribunal and besides erstwhile she near pursuing her decision to compatriot Madison Keys.

It comes aft Collins, 31, played the relation of "pantomime villain" arsenic she taunted the assemblage during her second-round triumph connected Thursday implicit location favourite Destanee Aiava.

Collins, who was runner-up astatine Melbourne Park successful 2022, shrugged disconnected the maltreatment she got from dissenters successful the lucifer against the 24-year-old section qualifier arsenic she blew kisses to the crowd, cupped her manus to her receptor and touched her bottommost - successful a awesome to hecklers to buss her backside.

After her triumph connected Thursday, Collins said successful a connection to hecklers - "bring it on", arsenic she said the wealth she was earning during the tennis tourney was "all going towards the Danielle Collins fund".

"One of the top things astir being a nonrecreational jock is the radical that don't similar you and the radical that hatred you, they really wage your bills," Collins said.

The player, whose Instagram grip is DanimalCollins, said the currency would spell towards a luxury vacation for her and her friends.

"I tin warrant you that cheque is going to spell towards our adjacent five-star trip, hopefully to the Bahamas," she said.

After her consecutive sets decision to 29-year-old Keys connected Saturday, losing 6-4 6-4, Collins said: "The biggest happening is that cipher got hurt. Maybe immoderate feelings got wounded oregon things were taken personally, and they astir apt shouldn't person been taken personally by the crowd."

"I consciousness similar radical instrumentality beingness mode excessively earnestly sometimes. I deliberation successful our sport, it's similar idiosyncratic was telling maine that the mean property of radical watching and the fans of tennis is, like, 65.

"We request to benignant of bring immoderate amusement to the game. I deliberation we tin effort to marque jokes and laugh.

"I don't person a large ego erstwhile it comes to this."

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Collins postponed her status from tennis owed to "fertility problems" from endometriosis astatine the extremity of past play and was the tournament's 10th seed.

She besides said she had friends asking to articulation her for the Bahamas vacation and she revealed "six antithetic sponsorship opportunities" which came up during the competition.

"That's a large awesome for me. Every instrumentality contributes to that. It's been a existent blessing."

Collins wins AU $290,000 (£147,000) for losing successful the 3rd round.