American tennis star Danielle Collins has backflipped on her decision to retire from the game and will rejoin the WTA tour next year.

The 2022 Australian Open finalist was set to bow out at the end of the 2024, despite having been at the top of her game this season.

Collins won arguably the biggest title of her career, the Miami Open, in March, and has spent most of the year inside the WTA’s top 10 world rankings.

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But the 30-year-old announced at the start of 2024 that this year would be her last, as she switches her focus to starting a family.

In an Instagram post on Friday, Collins explained how that dream hadn’t gone to plan as she continues to battle endometriosis, fertility and other “lingering health challenges”.

“Hi everyone, I’ve been a little MIA the last few weeks so I want to give everyone an update,” she said.

“It’s been a stressful time with these horrific hurricanes that wiped through Florida, and on top of it I’ve been dealing with some issues around my endometriosis and other health challenges.

“While I was very excited and eager to wrap up my tennis career on a high note this year and jump headfirst into my next chapter of life, things have not gone as planned.

“In addition to managing some lingering health challenges the past few months, I’ve recently been seeing a handful of specialists to better understand what my best path forward is to achieve my ultimate dream, starting a family.

“Dealing with endometriosis and fertility is a massive challenge for many women and something that I am actively traversing, but I am fully confident in the team I am working with. It is just going to take longer than I thought.”

Collins, who went down to hometown hero Ash Barty in the 2022 Australian Open final, says she is as hungry as ever to continue to succeed on tour.

“So, the DANIMAL story has not reached its conclusion. I will be back on tour in 2025,” she added.

“While there are no guarantees in life, I hope to build on my 2024 momentum and keep playing until there is more certainty around my personal fertility journey. The only guarantee for now will be some more epic matches.

“Thank you to all of my fans and the amazing people behind me that have been so encouraging during this time and also to my closest friends on tour that have been supporting me every step of the way.”

In a column for UK publication BBC in May, when she was ranked 10th in the world, Collins said the decision to retire was important to her, also revealing she was fighting rheumatoid arthritis — on top of her endometriosis.

“A lot of people have been surprised by my decision to retire while I’ve been having some of the best success of my career,” she wrote at the time.

“But for me it was really important to end on a positive note.

“I’m going to be 31 at the end of the year and one of my biggest goals outside of tennis is to have a family.

“Being able to have a family is challenging as a woman when your career depends on your body. It would be especially difficult to think about playing tennis while pregnant.

“Added to this, I deal with two chronic health conditions: rheumatoid arthritis and endometriosis which can affect fertility and your ability to have children. Some research estimates up to 30-50% of women with endometriosis experience infertility, and time isn’t on my side either.

“I have a smaller window available to get pregnant and to make sure that hopefully happens. I’m also introverted and like to be at home mostly.

“I’ve loved my experience of being a professional tennis player and travelling the world. Tennis has given me the opportunity to have so many incredible experiences, many of which would not have been possible for me otherwise.

“But I’m ready for my next chapter.”

In 2021, her endometriosis had Collins in so much pain, she was barely able to compete.

The then 27-year-old underwent emergency surgery for the condition in April 2021 after years of suffering agonising periods.

“I had so many doctors tell me that painful periods were normal. This progressively got worse and worse,” she told the WTA website in August of that year.

“The agony that I experienced from my menstrual cycles and from the endometriosis is some of the worst pain I’ve ever had. It was scary at times.”