'Asking for personal space': Danielle Collins shares reason behind rant at cameraman in Strasbourg

America’s Danielle Collins has opened up about the reason which led her to make a strong comment to the cameraman in Strasbourg. The 31-year-old is currently taking part in the ongoing French Open where she cemented her spot after beating Britain’s Jodie Anna Burrage with a score of 7-6,6 -4.

Before coming into the competition, Collins featured in the Strasbourg Open, where her journey ended in the semifinals after she lost to Liudmila Samsonova. In the round of 16, she faced Britain’s Emma Raducanu, where she came out on top with a score of 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. During the match, Collins was heard asking the cameraman to give her and Raducanu some space. “I need to get water,” she said back then. “We’re on a changeover. You don’t need to be that close to me, and you don’t need to be on top of Emma. It’s like wildly inappropriate. It’s not that difficult to give space. I’m sorry.”

Collins was asked about the incident after cementing her spot in the round of 64. She stated that she has no idea why what happened in Strasbourg is still a part of any discussion, as all she was doing back then was asking for ‘space’ at her ‘workplace’.

“I think what happened in Strasbourg was just me asking for personal space at my workplace,” she said. “I don’t know why that is even a topic of discussion, frankly. I mean, it should be something that we can get to have during, like, our work. The fact that I’ve had to ask so many different times in my career and during different matches to just have an adequate level of personal space I think is kind of strange. I think often times it seems like my response is treated like the offense itself. I’m learning that as a female, asking for personal space seems to be an issue for a lot of people. I think it’s really pathetic honestly that it’s even a topic of discussion.”