Source : ABC NEWS
Australian tennis player Destanee Aiava says 2026 will be her last year in professional tennis, announcing her impending retirement in an expletive-laden statement on social media.
Aiava, 25, described tennis as her “toxic boyfriend”, while also calling out a culture in the sport she said is “racist, misogynistic, homophobic and hostile to anyone who doesn’t fit its mould”.
The Victorian did not make the main singles draw of January’s Australian Open, and was eliminated with partner Maddison Inglis in the first round of the women’s doubles.
Aiava has not played since the Australian Open, which will now be her last home slam.
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In a post to social media on Saturday evening, Aiava said she had trusted the wrong people early in her career, something she was unable to overcome.
“2026 will be my final year on tour playing professional tennis,” Aiava wrote.
“From the moment I had my first lesson at Casey Tennis Club, my entire life was tennis. I often wondered what my life would have looked like if I’d chosen anything else and whether everything I sacrificed for this sport was actually worth the cost.
“There was a time in my career when I had reached the point that comes just before you make your big breakthrough, when the world is at your feet and nothing can touch you.
“I was only 17, unprepared and dangerously naive to the consequences of trusting the wrong people.
“The trajectory of my career was never the same after that.”
The 25-year-old said she kept playing tennis because she believed it was owed to herself and “everyone who had helped me throughout my career”.
Aiava called tennis “my toxic boyfriend”, stating she did not know what her passions were outside of the sport.
But the most explosive aspects of her retirement post were reserved for those Aiava claimed “made me feel less than”.
“I want to say a ginormous f*** you to everyone in the tennis community who’s ever made me feel less than,” she wrote.
“F*** you to every single gambler who’s sent me hate or death threats.
“F*** you to the people who sit behind screens on social media, commenting on my body, my career or whatever the f*** they want to nitpick.”
Aiava has been vocal about online abuse in the past.
After losing in this year’s Australian Open qualifiers, she shared a comment that had been left on her page, which addressed her ability and body image.
She also dealt with comments about her appearance following her breakthrough performance at the 2025 Australian Open, where she made it to the second round.
In a video addressing online abuse published in January, the Victorian said she had dealt with the trolling for years.
“The way that people think it’s OK just because someone is a public figure, that they comment this s***? F***ing disgusting,” she said in January.
“Body shaming is not a f***ing opinion, and neither is bullying.”
On Saturday, Aiava said she was proud to have represented the Pasifika community on the international tennis stage.
Aiava has a New Zealand-born father, Mark, whose parents were Samoan, while her mother Rosie was born in American Samoa.
She called out a culture in tennis that she called “hostile” to people like her.
“And f*** you to a sport that hides behind so-called class and gentlemanly values,” she wrote.
“Behind the white outfits and traditions is a culture that’s racist, misogynistic, homophobic and hostile to anyone who doesn’t fit the mould.”
Aiava is currently ranked number 321 in the WTA, with a career high of 147.
She won 10 singles titles on the women’s ITF tour, the last coming in Brisbane in 2024.
“Life is not meant to be lived in misery or half assed,” Aiava wrote on Saturday.
“My ultimate goal is to be able to wake up everyday and genuinely say I love what I do — which I think everyone deserves the chance at.
“I’m 25, turning 26 this year and I feel so far behind everyone else, like I’m starting from scratch. I’m also scared. But that’s better than living a life that’s misaligned, or being around constant comparison and losing yourself.”
