Danielle Collins feels she has enough to juggle without wasting precious mind matter on superstitions.
It is probably just as well after reaching her maiden Grand Slam final at the Australian Open 12 months ago on the heels of a hugely disjointed lead-up.
With four matches in Adelaide in the bag in the past fortnight she has already enjoyed a more stable build-up to her 2023 campaign.
DRAW: Australian Open 2023 women's singles
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A year ago, the 29-year-old barely recovered from Covid-19 in time to board her flight Down Under and subsequently missed all tournaments in preparation before producing the run of her life at Melbourne Park.
It took Ash Barty to deny her that maiden major on the final Saturday.
“I think I'm like the opposite of a superstitious person,” she said ahead of her opening match at Australian Open 2023 against Anna Kalinskaya.
“I don't really ever do anything, like the same thing, over and over again, except for getting my coffee at the same place every day….
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“I still was having some side effects after [having Covid before Australian Open 2022]. I remember the drug tester saying, ‘Are you going to be able to go to Australia?’
“I honestly wasn't really feeling my best. I had some challenges, like, during the entire tournament, but I was able to play some of my best tennis, be able to problem solve.”
The American took back, neck and elbow niggles in her stride as she ground her way through six matches in Melbourne last year before falling to Barty.
They paled in comparison to rheumatoid arthritis and endometriosis struggles she has endured in recent years.
“I think just the head space I was in mentally to be able to work through those things, I think that's what ultimately kind of led me to getting as far as I did in the tournament,” Collins said.
“It wasn't necessarily how I was hitting the ball or how fast I was serving or my percentage.
“It was just I think the way I was able to kind of problem solve through some of those tough moments.”
Collins had reached her sole Grand Slam semifinal at Melbourne Park in 2019 but went one better last year after she stunned future No.1 Iga Swiatek.
Fans lapped up her gritty, unabashedly in-your-face antics in the heat of battle, even if they did ruffle a few feathers along the way.
In a high-level second set against Barty, Collins blocked out her opponent’s partisan home crowd and threatened a deciding set only to fall short in a tiebreak.
While she left with much to be proud of, the bitter taste of defeat threatened to linger.
Fortunately Collins said she was not one to dwell on the outcome of her day job.
“I think as a tennis player, we're so wrapped up in our process and just doing what we need to do each day to kind of better our games and best prepare,” Collins said.
“Honestly, I don't really think about it too often. I mean, it's just so far in the rearview mirror, it's almost a year ago.
“Obviously wonderful memories playing here last year. Really gave me a lot of confidence within my game knowing that I can beat top players, make it that far in a Slam, handle pressure pretty well.
“To be honest, yeah, it's just not something I think about much because, I mean, I'm not totally consumed with my tennis. I have other things outside of the tennis going on in my life that are kind of keeping me entertained and looking forward to things.”