Tennis star says fallout from ‘inappropriate' cameraman incident is 'really pathetic'

National Post

5 days ago

All that Danielle Collins wanted was some personal space.
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Now, the fiery American tennis star is fuming over her incident with a cameraman that went viral, calling the fallout from the clip 'really pathetic.'
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Earlier this week at the French Open, Collins shared more of her perspective about the nuisance of camera operators infringing on her space.
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'I think what happened in Strasbourg is just me asking for personal space at my workplace. I don't know why that is even a topic of discussion, frankly,' Collins told The Tennis Letter after her first-round win Monday over Britain's Jodie Burrage.
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'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 is kind of strange.
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'I think oftentimes it seems like my response is treated like the offence 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.'
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The controversy kicked off at last week's Internationaux de Strasbourg during a changeover in the match between Collins and Emma Raducanu.
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During the break in the third set of the match with the score tied at three games apiece, Collins noticed how close the cameraman was standing to the players' bench area on the sideline.
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'I need to get water. 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,' Collins said while approaching the cameraman, who was standing next to the water dispenser.
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'It's like wildly inappropriate,' Collins added after an angry-sounding chuckle.
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Danielle Collins asks a cameraman to give her & Emma Raducanu space during their match in Strasbourg
'I need to get water. We're on a changeover. You don't need to be that close to me & you don't need to be on top of Emma. It's wildly inappropriate'
pic.twitter.com/s8ROMO2vaB
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 21, 2025
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The cameraman was noticeably close to Raducanu during the exchange, with the 2021 US Open winner appearing to the right of the frame.
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At the French Open, Collins spoke about the footage and detailing what was going through her head at the time.
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'There's so much people don't see,' she said. 'They don't see the person go and stand right on top of Emma to get a good shot of me in about a two- to three-foot space.
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'I'm doing a performance job. I'm trying to focus on my work. I'm trying to maintain my focus and concentration. My job requires channeling physical, emotional and then logical things going on. It's my job to kind of put that all together. The last thing I should be focusing on is someone that's right on top of my opponent and right in my face. It's just really unnecessary.'
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Collins also questioned where the line is drawn overall.
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'I think that man was trying to do his job, but where do you draw the line? I don't necessarily think it was creepy. But I think we should all be able to say, like, 'Hey. I would like some physical space.' You go to different tournaments, and you ask nicely most of the time. You ask politely. That doesn't get reported on. But the time I get upset about at it, that response is treated as the offence itself. And that's what I find most interesting about it,' she said.
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