Under Rod Laver Arena and beyond, Danielle Collins is finding her bearings in 'bonus' 2025 season

Danielle Collins might be an Australian Open finalist, but that doesn't mean she truly knows her way around Melbourne Park.

The American was caught by behind-the-scenes cameras on the eve of the Australian Open getting lost (again) in the tunnels of Rod Laver Arena, and the Tennis Channel Live crew got a kick out of watching Collins meander around the bowels of Melbourne's main stadium, only to double back the way she came to get where she was going, for the second year running.

Before Day 1 action officially kicked off, 2000 Australian Open Lindsay Davenport, Collins' U.S. Billie Jean King Cup captain, dubbed Rod Laver Arena's tunnels the most confusing of all the Grand Slam tournaments to navigate, explaining that pedestrians can take either route to Melbourne Park's other courts.

"You have half the courts on the left, half the courts on the right ... maybe she just wasn't sure where practice Court 14 was," she said.

"I've definitely gone down there and been like, 'Wait, we're going to that court; is it on this side or that side?' ... Don't judge me!"

Collins got less sympathy from another former AO champion in Martina Navratilova, who suggested she pack a compass next time, but Prakash Amritraj gave the Top 10 seed even more benefit of the doubt.

"I'm going to defend Danielle over here," he said. "Sometimes, as part of a workout routine, you've gotta count your steps, on your phone, on your watch, so maybe she's just getting her steps in."

But Collins is still getting her bearings in 2025 more broadly, after the 31-year-old announced in October that she wouldn't retire at the end of last season as she originally planned to. Hoping to start a family in short order, Collins famously shared the news that 2024 would be her final season after losing to Iga Swiatek at last year's Australian Open, but reversed course by year's end because of further fertility challenges presented by endometriosis.

Read more: Danielle Collins postpones retirement into 2025 season, opens up about fertility struggles

After an "awful" respiratory issue prevented her from getting on court during the United States' United Cup-winning campaign earlier this month, Collins told reporters in her pre-Australian Open press conference that she's treating her extended career as "a bonus," and committed to "keep playing here for the next couple of weeks and months" as her health allows her, and while she seeks further medical clarity.

Read more: Why did Danielle Collins change her Instagram profile picture to an Iga Swiatek handshake photo?

"I think I'm being more gentle with myself, especially during this time, just because there are challenges I'm facing right now personally with my health side of things. Obviously that's been really challenging for me mentally and emotionally," she said.

"So [I'm] just trying to, you know, look at this in a way of, I get to be on tour for a little bit longer and I get to hang out with my friends and get to have that support and get to travel and get to see places of the world that I still haven't seen."

"Here I am just trying to enjoy it a little bit longer," she aded. "I think it's important to note, too, I have been doing this for seven, eight years. My closest friendships are a lot of the women on tour, a lot of the people on tour. You think about that lifestyle change when you're going through something that's so challenging emotionally, and then to not have that support system, that's... Yeah, it's a lot.

"So I'm glad that I can keep doing this for a little bit longer and have that."

Seeded No. 10 in Melbourne, Collins opens her tournament against Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur.