Women's professional tennis returns to Austin with second ATX Open tournament
A not-yet-but-maybe-future Austinite is already looking forward to what might be her final visit to the tournament she calls home.
Floridian Danielle Collins, a semifinalist at the inaugural ATX Open in 2023, said before Christmas that she can’t wait to return to Westwood Country Club for the tournament’s second year. The event will begin Saturday.
“I feel like I’m at home each time I’m in Austin,” Collins said. “I call this my home tournament now. I love where I am in Florida, but Austin is up there on the list for a post-retirement place to live. I really like the good vibes we get in Austin.”
Collins leads a strong group of players who will compete for the top prize at the tournament, which will end March 3. Fellow ATX Open semifinalist Sloane Stephens, Victoria Azarenka and rising U.S. star Peyton Stearns, a singles and team national champion at Texas, also will play.
Azarenka is a former WTA No. 1 player and a two-time Australian Open singles champion.
“Azarenka coming is a big win for us,” said Bryan Sheffield, the founder and promoter of the DropShot Tournament Series, which owns the event.
Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva earned a spot in the main draw by virtue of her win at the ITF Tour H-E-B Women’s Pro Tennis Open, with a winner's wild card.
Collins hopes to get off to a fast start this year after an up-and-down 2023 that saw her ranking climb as high as No. 11 before dropping to 53 in December. She enters the ATX Open at No. 46. Stephens is 41st, and Stearns is 65th.
“I had a couple of unfortunate results that could have gone either way and then I had some injuries around the French Open and Wimbledon timeframe,” Collins said. “But at the end of the year I was playing some really good tennis. I don’t think my game is reflective of my ranking. I feel like I’ve made a lot of improvements mentally, physically, and emotionally and have added some more variety to my game."
Collins nearly started her 2024 season with a major upset at the Australian Open. In the second round, she led top-ranked Iga Swiatek 4-1 in the third set but couldn’t close it out. Swiatek won the final five games to take the match. Afterward, Collins announced that she plans to retire at the end of the 2024 season.
Other updates from the tournament:
Qualifying weekend: Play in the main draw will begin Monday, but the qualifying rounds start at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday and are free and open to the public.
Draw party: Saturday's official tournament draw will be open to the public at a 5 p.m. draw party, where all 32 players will be placed in the bracket and then a doubles match will be played for charity.
Sunday events: After the qualifying matches end about 2 p.m. Sunday, there will be a tennis and golf exhibition with part-time Austinite Sergio Garcia, Azarenka, Collins, Stephens and Ajla Tomljanovic.
Watching matches: This year there's a new layout as well as opportunities for spectators to get courtside for matches and player practice sessions. The stadium court setup remains largely unchanged, but the grandstand court will feature a courtside club, and the court that served as the tournament merchandise shop will be used for matches. A third court has been added, and practice courts will be more accessible.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: ATX Open women's professional tennis tournament returns to Austin
