Ali Collins’ long-term goal is to play at Wimbledon but she is equally concerned with driving change and equalising opportunities within the world of tennis. Hailing from Dunblane, the same town where Andy and Jamie Murray grew up, the 21-year-old is now an established name on the ITF doubles circuit and hopes to help inspire the next generation of budding female tennis players. This desire to make a meaningful difference stems from Collins’ own experiences growing up. As a sports fanatic, she loved playing both football and tennis and eventually had to make the decision on which to prioritise. Despite her father, Lee, being a former professional footballer, tennis was the far more visible sport and Collins remembers having posters of the great Kim Clijsters in her bedroom.“It kind of whittled down to tennis and football when I was around nine,” she told GiveMeSport Women. "It was really tough [to decide which to play]. I think at the time, women’s football wasn't as visible as tennis was for females. So I definitely watched a bit more tennis. I think I had really good hand-eye coordination at a young age.” Natural talent is not the only quality needed to make it as a professional, however. It takes dedication, motivation and a lot of sacrifices to have any chance of success. Collins remembers being 15 years old and leaving her small town in Stirling to move to Florida for training purposes. It was at this point she realised her dream could feasibly become a reality. â€œI started playing some of the top events in the world,” she recalled. “I played Junior Wimbledon and then I moved to Florida to train out there. I think that's when it kind of hit me. I'd made such a big move at such a young age. And I was like, yeah this could potentially be a career for me.”The lifestyle of a tennis player is particularly demanding and relates back to the sacrifices any aspiring professional has to make, especially in the early stages of their career. Indeed, Collins emphasised that she is constantly travelling at present –– competing in tournaments around Europe on a weekly basis. While lavish sounding on paper, it can often be lonely, stressful and decidedly draining. â€œIt’s really crazy,” Collins explained. “It's really last minute [and] it changes all the time. You have to be very flexible, and you're constantly on the road travelling. So it's definitely something I’ve improved at as I've gotten older, but it’s been the biggest obstacle for me. It doesn't get any easier to be honest. But you just get more accustomed to it I guess.” One key to coping with touring the world is switching off from tennis at times. Collins has tried to explore the cities she visits wherever possible and likes to relax and watch Netflix when the time allows. A self-confessed reality TV fan –– Made in Chelsea and Married at First Sight are some of her favourite series to enjoy. Aside from that, however, the 21-year-old has also been studying for a degree in Business & Enterprise in Sport from Edinburgh Napier University. â€œWe do have a lot of downtime when we're away at tournaments. In the morning we can maybe do a bit of practice, and then we play at 6pm. So there's like big gaps in the day. So it's given me a real focus away from the tennis court, which I definitely needed. And so that, of course, has been really good for me. I've learned so much from it. So it's been difficult but enjoyable.”There have been many who have offered their advice and support along the way as well. Having watched the Murray brothers growing up, Collins considers them huge inspirations. Similarly, Judy Murray, who has had a huge influence on British women’s tennis, has always looked out for her. â€œI think coming from such a small town and seeing Andy and Jamie [Murray] do so well, was a huge inspiration for me. And also Judy was a massive part of my career as a youngster and she's been unbelievable with me and helped me throughout my whole career. So I think the whole family has been amazing for me, and they’re a massive inspiration.”Jamie Murray has won seven Grand Slam doubles titles during his career and Collins is hoping to follow the same path. The Brit has recently moved away from playing singles and won her first 25K ITF event in France last month, alongside partner Emily Appleton.

Explaining her decision to make the transition, Collins highlighted her love of team sports and how playing doubles has helped her find herself again. 

“When lockdown happened and Covid happened, I was obviously spending a lot of time at home and it was a really good [time of] self-reflection. It was the first time in my whole life really that I hadn't been travelling and I'd actually got time to just think about what was going on and analyse my career at that point.

I really was struggling to enjoy the lifestyle and the competing and I’d kind of lost myself a little bit. And then I thought, doubles is always something that I've loved and my game suits doubles a bit more.

“Also a huge part of playing tennis for me is about inspiring the next generation of girls who are coming up in the world. And I know, to do that, I need a platform and I need to be visible for those girls. So I figured that doubles was probably the right move for me.”

Doubles, in general, has been going from strength to strength in recent times, with the likes of Murray and Joe Salisbury helping to heighten interest from British tennis fans. Acknowledging this, Collins described the past few years as an “amazing time” for the doubles scene. 

“It's really brought up the visibility and actually, I'm not just saying this, I actually enjoy it more [than singles] because it's very fast-paced,” she stressed. “So I think it's really great to watch and I think it will gain more visibility, which will be nice. It’s definitely getting there.”

Collins is not the only female athlete striving to be a role model and has become an ambassador for Kyniska Advocacy –– a campaign aiming to create a sporting world that celebrates, protects and respects women in sport. 

“I met the girls at Kyniska through the Women's Sport Trust, which was unbelievable and I got so much from that. Being around all these female athletes who had visions of what they wanted to do in the sport and what they wanted to change was really important for me.” 

For now, the short term focus is to play as many matches as possible and get more experience under her belt. Like the majority of British tennis stars, however, her long-term ambition is to play at the All-England Club again one day. 

“The goal is to get back to Wimbledon and compete there and be at that WTA level. So, we're [her and Appleton] just going to keep working every day and put the work in and hopefully we can get there.”