In April last year, Danielle Collins had a cyst the size of a tennis ball removed from her ovary.

Seven weeks later she played the French Open.

On Wednesday, she won through to the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

It’s been an incredible year.

What surgery did tennis player Danielle Collins have?

For four years Danielle Collins was told the pain she was experiencing was uncomfortable but normal.

It was just bad period pains, they said, and to take anti-inflammatory drugs while working her tennis around her cycle.

Collins had endometriosis, a hard-to-diagnose condition where tissue similar to that inside the uterus starts growing outside the organ.

The surgery was life-changing and, as it turns out, career-changing.

This week she won through to her second Australian Open semi-final when she defeated French veteran Alize Cornet in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1. Unlike when she made the semis here in 2019, she has found consistency in her tennis.

Now healthy, she has been flying.

Since July last year when she returned from surgery she has a 31-7 win-loss record.

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