Just a few short years ago, Ali Collins was seriously thinking about hanging up her tennis racquet for good.
Now, however, she’s on the verge of playing on the biggest stage of them all; Wimbledon.
Throughout her teens, Collins was touted as one of Scotland’s most promising young singles players.
But a move to Spain as she hit her twenties to further her career unequivocally did not work out.
So Collins was faced with a choice; hang up her racquet or make the switch to doubles in an attempt to rejuvenate her career.
She opted for the latter and its fair to say she made a good decision.
Now 23 years old, Collins, from Dunblane, has established herself as one of Britain’s top doubles players and alongside her partner, Englishwoman Freya Christie, they’ve raced up the world rankings over the past year, picking up six titles and reaching a further three finals in the process.
The pair’s form has seen them awarded with a wildcard into the main draw of the women’s doubles at Wimbledon meaning Collins will imminently fulfil what has been a dream of hers almost since the day she first picked up a racket.
With three appearances at Junior Wimbledon, in 2015, 2016 and 2017, under her belt, she’s no stranger to the All England Club but she admits her maiden senior appearance leaves her somewhat unsure what to expect.
“Growing up, it was always a dream to play Wimbledon and after I played juniors, I knew I wanted to play the seniors,” she says.
“It’s a huge milestone for me.
“Freya and I want to enjoy it but we also want to perform well and win matches.
“We want to prove that we can play at this level.
“It’s hard to know exactly what to expect but I know I’m going to soak it all in.”
The form Collins has shown over the past twelve months, however, suggests she will be far from out of her depth on Wimbledon’s hallowed courts.
Her and Christie have shown they can compete with the world’s very best, which they’ll need at Wimbledon, where they’ll play Alize Cornet and Luca Udvardy in round one with a win likely to see them meet second seeds, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula in round two.
And with the Anglo-Scottish duo having only paired-up a year ago, Collins admits their quick progress has surprised even herself.
“It’s definitely gone better than I could have imagined,” she says.
“Freya and I have great chemistry and that’s what’s made the past year so successful.
“Now, because we’re beginning to play bigger events, we’re starting to see what could be possible and that’s been unbelievable.
“But we know it’s a long journey and we still have a long way to go.”
Collins and Christie have reached a stage whereby they can begin to look at becoming regulars on the WTA Tour, the highest level of tournaments in women’s tennis.
Their most recent result in particular, a match tiebreak loss to multiple grand slam doubles champion and current world number two, Barbora Krejcikova, and her partner, Marta Kostyuk, at the WTA event in Birmingham last month, has given Collins the confidence and belief that although not quite where she wants to be just yet, she has what it takes to become one of the best doubles players in the world.
“It’s great to play against players who are at the level you want to reach because it shows you what you need to improve upon,” she says.
“We proved we could play at that level but it’s about maintaining that week in, week out.
“It hurts a lot when you lose such tight matches. It gives us confidence that we can play at that standard but at the same time, it’s about working out how to get over the line and win those tight matches.”
Collins’ inclusion in the Wimbledon draw means there will be three Dunblane natives in action at the All England Club in the coming days, with Andy and Jamie Murray also playing this year’s tournament. With Collins having grown up admiring the Murray brothers from close quarters, and having been mentored by their mum, Judy, Collins has watched with interest Andy’s recent run of good form.
“What he’s doing is unbelievable,” she says of the former Wimbledon champion.
“He’s shown his real love and passion for the sport. With all the set-backs he’s had, it’s incredible that he still wants to play. It’s been amazing to watch him. And I hope he has a good Wimbledon.”
While the coming week may be the biggest stage Collins plays on this year, she has, by no means, any plans to stop progressing once the grass court season is over.
Currently ranked a career-high 110 in the world, she and Christie have their sights set on breaking into the top 100 sooner rather than later, but she has no intention of stopping there.
“The first milestone is top-100 – that’s a big goal,” she says.
“Then the target will be to get into the WTA tournaments consistently and get used to that environment. And from there, we want to become a top-50 pair.
“It’ll not be easy but neither of us are shy of hard work. And we really believe in our ability.”
