Danielle Collins was repeatedly booed by the Melbourne crowd as she lost in the third round of the Australian Open to Madison Keys.
The American caused controversy with her reaction to the crowd during her second-round win over home favourite Destanee Aiava.
After coming through in two sets, Collins blew kisses to the home fans and slapped her backside before cupping her hands to her ears and thanking them for helping her land “a big fat pay cheque”.
And the locals had clearly not forgotten her antics, with Collins looking slightly taken aback as she was booed when emerging on to Rod Laver Arena for her clash with fellow American Keys.
The boos continued at various intervals during their game, with Collins requiring treatment on a knee injury before going down 6-4, 6-4.
There was a brief interval during the game when a spectator proposed to his partner in the stands, with Collins clapping as she said “yes”.
Collins had been backed by some players for her attitude, with Novak Djokovic – who has adopted similar tactics in the past – praising her for doing so.
“I loved her response… everything she said on and off the court. Big fan of Danielle Collins after that. I was before, but now, big fan. I love it,” he said.
Credit: X / @TheTennisLetter / @eurosport
Collins had not held back after her victory over Aiava, thanking the fans who had booed her for contributing to “the Danielle Collins fund”.
“Well, I’m going to be here for two hours, putting up with all these people, I might as well take the bigger pay cheque, right?” said Collins.
“I was super-happy to do that and one of the greatest things about being a professional athlete are that the people that don’t like you and that hate you, they actually pay your bills.
“It’s kind of a cool concept and obviously my professional career is not going to last forever and I just remind myself every day when I have that kind of stuff that they’re paying my bills.
“Every person that has bought a ticket and has come out here to heckle me can do what they do. It’s all going towards the Danielle Collins fund. So like, yeah, bring it on, I love it.”
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