(August 19, 2025) FLUSHING, NY – With the withdrawal of the team of Jannik Sinner and Katerina Siniakova from the US Open mixed doubles, Danielle Collins and Christian Harrisonwho were alternates, received the call late morning on Tuesday that they were in the draw.
The American pair now find themselves in the semis of the mixed doubles after beating in the first round Belina Bencic and Alexander Zvrerev 4-0, 5-3 and next Taylor Townsend and Ben Shelton 4-1, 5-4(2) in the final eight.
“Feel like we kind of were predicting we were going to get in,” Collins said. “We were talking about just the cool element, if somebody pulled out, we got in. We were prepared for the most part.
“Yeah, to go out there and finally get to play with each other. We’ve been talking about doing this for a while. Just played so well. Go in with a ton of strategy. Yeah, we were like a vibe out there.”
Harriison said: “We go way back. She’s one of my closest friends in tennis. I have a good idea what her strengths and weaknesses are. She doesn’t really have any weaknesses. She didn’t miss too many balls. She made it easy for me to sit back and watch today.
“Honestly, as we got in, I has become such a big deal. So many people started texting even before we played the match. You could start to feel the magnitude.
“Just before we started playing, I was having so much fun. That’s all I was thinking about. I was having a really good time. The wins are just a bonus for us.”
“This was the first time there was a possibility. I think I asked her right away.”
Asked about playing last year’s champions next in Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, Collins said with a big smile: “They already have enough trophies. We can try to take it from them. Do they need another?”
“I’m bad on the spot like this when it comes to strategy,” admitted Collins.”I feel like I have to sit down and refresh my memory if I’m being completely honest.
“Yeah, I played her in singles a while back. Obviously, yeah, she has a more, like, counterpunching type game style, I would say, in singles. I kind of need to sit down and look at what she’s doing a little bit in the doubles. I’m sure there’s a lot more strategy involved.
“Then, yeah, I need to scout out her partner, too.”
