She abruptly introduced her retirement from tennis in a robust and pointed assertion.
Destanee Aiava is planning to retire from tennis (Picture: Getty)
Destanee Aiava has introduced that 2026 might be her closing yr on tour as an expert tennis participant, citing “gamblers” and social media abuse because the explanation why. Aiava, 25, has been taking part in professionally since she was a youngster, and made her Australian Open debut at simply 16.
Aiava has primarily featured on the decrease tier of girls’s tennis, with the Aussie having received 11 ITF titles. Her finest Grand Slam efficiency got here in 2025 when she made it by way of to the second spherical of the Australian Open.
However the Melbourne-born ace appears to be reducing her profession brief, saying in an explosive social media assertion: “I wish to say a ginormous f*** you to everybody within the tennis group who’s ever made me really feel lower than.
“F*** you to each single gambler who’s despatched me hate or demise threats. F*** you to the individuals who sit behind screens on social media, commenting on my physique, my profession, or regardless of the f*** they wish to nitpick. And f*** you to a sport that hides behind so-called class and gentlemanly values. Behind the white outfits and traditions is a tradition that is racist, misogynistic, homophobic and hostile to anybody who does not match its mould.”
“I used to be solely 17, unprepared and dangerously naive to the implications of trusting the improper folks. The trajectory of my profession was by no means the identical after that. Generally I stored taking part in as a result of I felt like I owed it to not solely myself, however to everybody who had helped me all through my profession, to attempt to get again to the place (on paper) I belonged. Different instances I stored going as a result of I used to be too scared to begin once more.
“Or I used to be bored. I additionally didn’t know who I used to be outdoors of tennis an what my true ardour was. I used to be continually on the lookout for that factor that gave me grief. In different phrases, tennis was my poisonous boyfriend.”
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