Danielle Collins thanked a hostile Australian Open crowd for helping to fund her next vacation after beating its last home hope in the women’s draw.

Collins beat Destanee Aiava 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-2 to set up a third-round meeting with U.S. compatriot Madison Keys.

As the crowd booed her while she took the mic for her post-match interview, she told them that she was thinking of that “big fat pay check” on her way to victory.

“Coco and I love a good five-star vacation,” the No. 10 seed said in reference to CoCo Vandeweghe. “So part of that check is going to go towards that. So thanks for coming out here and supporting us tonight.”

At the end of the first set, Collins blew kisses to the crowd as she sat, before repeating the trick at the end of the match.

“Thanks guys, love ya,” she said on her way off court.

Little bit of prime “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan about Danielle Collins post match!#AO2025 pic.twitter.com/nyusDgt3PP

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2025

Later in her post-match press conference, she added: “One of the greatest things about being a professional athlete is the people that don’t like you and the people that hate you, they actually pay your bills. It’s kind of a cool concept.

“Every person that’s bought a ticket to come out here and heckle me, it’s all going towards the Danielle Collins Fund. Bring it on. I love it.”

Collins, 31, who Coco Gauff said “is always going to be Danielle,” in a recent news conference, is not the first player to give something back to the partisan crowd — Jack Draper celebrated a five-set victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis by cupping his ear to the Australians.

Collins, a finalist in Melbourne in 2022, is unwilling to cede ground to hostility from fans and players, real or imagined.

At the Paris Olympics, Collins had a tense exchange with then world No. 1 Iga Swiatek after retiring from their Olympic quarterfinal with an injury. “I just told her not to be insincere about my injury. I don’t need the fakeness,” Collins said afterwards, drawing a befuddled reaction from Swiatek.

Collins, who postponed her retirement from tennis after learning that her endometriosis would cause complications with her plan to start a family, has been open about how difficult that journey has been.

“You feel like you’re chasing your tail sometimes with the news that you get from your doctors because it can feel like Groundhog Day,” she told The Athletic in November.

“Other times you feel like, ‘Wow, I’ve done treatment, I’ve had surgery. And yet this thing continues to be an issue.’ And you think, ‘How is it like this?’ But that’s the thing with endometriosis, it’s not this like a tangible thing that you can just fix and that it can just go away. It doesn’t really go away.”

GO DEEPER

‘I’ve settled into my skin’: Danielle Collins is ready to play on

(Top photo: William West/AFP via Getty Images)

The Caitlin Clark effect has paid off in a big way for the Indiana Fever and women’s basketball. 

Pacers Sports & Entertainment unveiled its $78 million plan to build a “world-class” performance center in downtown Indianapolis exclusively for its WNBA team, which is expected to open before the start of the 2027 season. 

“We are excited to partner with Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett to identify the perfect location for the Indiana Fever Sports Performance Center,” PS&E Owner Herb Simon said in a statement. “The city of Indianapolis continues to be a tremendous partner as we elevate our team, players and community.”

The 108,000-square-foot practice center will be connected to the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where both the Fever and the Indiana Pacers play, and construction is expected to begin in August 2025. 

According to a press release from the team, the design of the center will be geared toward “the specific needs of female athletes competing at the highest level, including performance and conditioning, recovery and rehabilitation, mental health and wellness and lifestyle support.”

“This elite training center is a reflection of our organization’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that our players have the highest level of resources to be successful,” Indiana Fever president of basketball and business operations Kelly Krauskopf said in a statement provided by the team. 

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) shoots as the Dallas Wings’ Jacy Sheldon (4) and Natasha Howard, right, defend in the first half of a WNBA game Sept. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

EX-NOTRE DAME COACH OPENS UP ON CAITLIN CLARK BACKING OUT OF COMMITMENT: ‘I MAY STILL BE COACHING IF SHE CAME’

“As we look to the future, the focus of creating a first-class player experience designed exclusively for women athletes will set us apart.”

The new center will have two regulation courts, a full-service kitchen and areas dedicated to yoga and Pilates. In addition, the team said other features incorporated into the design include “a hair and nail salon, child care space and podcast and content production studio to support player lifestyles.” 

The Fever have their own standalone training center at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which was last renovated in 2020. 

Clark’s historic rookie season generated record numbers for the WNBA, both in viewership and attendance. For the first time in league history, the league announced full-time charter flights for all its teams in May, which were projected to cost around $25 million per year for the next two seasons.

Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever reacts after a 3-pointer during the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

Las Vegas, Seattle and Phoenix have all opened new training centers in the last few years, and Chicago has one under construction.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Jared Verse spent three years of high school in Pennsylvania.

So the Rams rookie edge rusher knows all about the Philadelphia Eagles, his team’s opponent Sunday in an NFC divisional-round playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field.

Was Verse an Eagles fan?

“I hate Eagles fans,” Verse told The Times on Thursday. “They’re so annoying. I hate Eagles fans.”

Verse repeated the phrase multiple times. And the front-runner for NFL rookie defensive player of the year did so with passion evident in his pass rushing.

Verse noted that when the Rams played the Eagles in November at SoFi Stadium, Eagles fans in attendance gave him an earful of obscenities that he could make out despite wearing headphones.

“I didn’t even do nothing to ‘em,” he said, “It was my first time playing. Oh, I hate Eagles fans.”

The Eagles’ uniform colors also are apparently triggering.

“When I see that green and white I hate it,” he said. “I actually get upset. Like I actually genuinely get hot.”

Verse, however, added he would be disciplined Sunday, stay on his assignments and contribute to a Rams defense that must control running back Saquon Barkley if coach Sean McVay’s team is to avenge its 37-20 defeat to the Eagles and advance to the NFC championship game.

In November, Barkley amassed 302 total yards against the Rams, including 255 yards rushing, and scored on runs of 72 and 70 yards. The Rams were out of position to make tackles and also missed Barkley multiple times.

Verse acknowledged his role in the debacle. Several times, he said, opportunities to limit Barkley to a short gain went awry and resulted in long runs because he tried to do too much.

“I just didn’t take advantage of them,” he said. “I left my feet.”

In the seven games since, Verse said he has improved in that regard.

In last Monday’s 27-9 wild-card victory over the Minnesota Vikings, the 6-foot-4, 260-pound Verse showed how fleet he was on his feet.

The former high school sprinter scooped a fumble by quarterback Sam Darnold and dashed 57 yards for a touchdown. NFL’s Next Gen Stats clocked Verse at 19.88 mph

“I’ve been trying to show coach McVay that I can play wide receiver or running back — whatever he needs me to do,” Verse said.

Verse, the 19th player chosen in the 2024 draft, said whenever he recovered a fumble in college an opposing player tackled him before he could run.

Against the Vikings, Verse had a clear path to the end zone.

“I was like, if I got five yards, then nobody is catching me, I’m like gone,” he said. “So once I got my five in, like it’s over with. So I was just trying to see how fast I could get.”

Verse is one of the top players for a young Rams defensive front that is excelling in the post-Aaron Donald era. Against the Vikings, the Rams tied an NFL postseason record with nine sacks.

Verse has 4½ sacks and was among the league leaders this season in quarterback pressures.

On Sunday, he once again goes up against an Eagles line that features two-time All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson and left tackle Jordan Mailata.

In the first game between the teams, Verse created a viral moment when he ran over the 6-8, 366-pound Mailata.

“I remember when I got flat-backed,” Mailata told Philadelphia reporters this week. “It was a good rush by him.

“The guy plays with a high motor. I think he plays well, he plays hard. He’s got some great moves. … To be fair, I got a couple on him too. Good on good.”

Verse continues to bull rush and remains exceptionally quick at the snap, Johnson said.

“He plays hard, really has come along in the run game too,” Johnson told Philadelphia reporters. “He’s just one of those players that’s obviously really talented. The more experience he gets, the better he’s going to become.”

Verse, the only Rams player selected to the Pro Bowl Games, is expected to be among the postseason award finalists in New Orleans during Super Bowl week.

But he aims to be playing in the big game.

“I’ve never been focused on the results of anything,” he said when asked about awards talk. “If I do what I’m supposed to do, everything else will come with it.

“This year, I might be in the conversation of winning that prestigious award — and I’m happy to be in that conversation.

“Next year, it’s trying to be in a bigger conversation. But that comes with work.”

Progress toward that goal continues Sunday when Verse plays against the Eagles — and in front of their fans — in their home stadium.

“I’m going to go crazy,” he said, adding that he would play within his role. “It’s going to be something.”

Etc.

The Rams designated inside linebacker Troy Reeder and defensive lineman Larrell Murchison to return to practice from injured reserve. … Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (thigh) and defensive lineman Bobby Brown III (shoulder) did not practice and tight end Tyler Higbee (chest) was limited. McVay said he expected that all would play Sunday.