Danielle Collins Booted From WTT After Violation of COVID-19 Protocol

Danielle Collins has been booted from World Team Tennis (WTT) after violating COVID-19 protocols.  Players participating in WTT are expected to stay in the “bubble” for the health and safety of the players, coaches, and the staff.

If she indeed left the resort, I think the punishment is appropriate. Collins has deleted her social media accounts and has not offered an explanation for her behavior.

The ejection is ironic since Collins recently criticized Novak Djokovic for being out of touch and having too big an entourage. Collins said:

“If it’s safe to play, and the USTA, WTA, and ATP do everything in their ability to prioritize the health of the players, I think we should support that. It’s easy when someone’s made $150 million throughout their career to try and tell people what to do with their money, and then turn downplaying in US open,. For those of us (most tennis players) who don’t travel with an entourage, we actually need to start working again. It would be nice to have the best player in the world supporting this opportunity and not spoiling it for the players and the fans!”

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Lucas Pouille Switches To Babolat Pure Drive Racquets And Le Coq Sportif Shoes And Apparel

French tennis Lucas Pouille has dumped his long time racquet partner Prince and moved to Babolat. Pouille will be using the Babolat Pure Drive racquet.

Players switch racquet brands because of financial reasons. Pouille probably got a better offer from Babolat than from Prince. With Pouille moving to Babolat, Prince only has one top pro using its racquet – John Isner.  

It appears that Pouille is continuing to use his old Prince Textreme Tour 100P racquet that is painted to appear like a Babolat Pure Drive.  Changing racquets can have a big impact on a player’s game.  It’s not uncommon for players to continue to use the old racquet after signing a racquet deal.

Pouille has also switched to Le Coq Sportif apparel and shoes. He was previously with Adidas. Fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet also wears the Le Coq Sportif shoes.

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