Danielle Collins rescues injured dog “Crash” in Miami, plans to adopt him

It’s no secret that Danielle Collins is one of the WTA’s most avid dog lovers, and the American’s big heart when it comes to four-legged friends helped one in need this week at the Miami Open.

Defending champion Collins revealed after beating Swiss Rebecca Masarova in three sets on Saturday night, her ninth straight win in Miami, that on her way home from Hard Rock Stadium a few days prior, she encountered an injured dog in the road that had been hit by a car.

“I was like, ‘We have to pull over, we have to get the dog,” Collins said. “We took him out of the street. … He’s been in the hospital now for two days.”

Collins, who owns four dogs, said that she’s named him Crash (middle name Marino, for Dan Marino) due to the incident, and asked the crowd for prayers for her new pet. She added that she’s planning on adopting the rescue, adding him to her menagerie if he pulls through.

“Please guys, send good energy to my little baby … that would be great,” she said. “Once he’s healed, and feeling back to himself, looking a little bit better, hopefully we’ll have some nice pictures, videos to share with everyone.”

It’s not the first time that a dog has been in Collins’ immediate orbit at Hard Rock Stadium. Twelve months ago, Collins’ Labradoodle, affectionately dubbed “Mr. Q” became the star of the show for the American’s career-defining spring stretch that resulted in title runs in not just Miami, but also on Charleston’s green clay. Collins dubbed Mr. Q the “MVP” of her 2024 Miami run, where she beat five seeds to win her first WTA 1000 title, saying that she “[didn’t] know what [she] would do without him.”

He has been close to Collins in her return to Miami this week, too, by featuring in her pre-event media photo shoot, and snoozing peacefully courtside at her practices.

Read more: Danielle Collins shouts out ‘love of my life,’ dog Quincy, after Charleston win

After she kicked off her title defense against Sorana Cirstea in the second round, the Florida native wrote a message to Mr. Q on the broadcast camera, later saying: “This is just so special. I can’t stress it enough about being in my home state and having my dog here, friends, family. It’s really special.”