Australian tennis player Destanee Aiava is set to compete in the women’s doubles at the 2026 Australian Open this fortnight. The 25-year-old, who has more than 20 ITF titles to her name in singles and doubles, failed to qualify in the singles main draw for the first Major of the year.
Aiava had played her women’s singles Round 1 qualifier against Harriet Dart and lost the match in three sets. Before that, the Aussie had participated in the Canberra International event, where she was knocked out in the opening round in both the singles and doubles disciplines.
While her form has been questionable, Aiava has been at the receiving end of constant online hatred by some fans who have resorted to shameful tactics of body-shaming and harassing her with their ill-timed comments. In a fitting response to one of those constant haters, Aiava posted a stern reply on social media.
“Hey guys, usually I block people straight away whenever I get a comment like this, or any accounts that do this, and I’m usually encouraged not to bite back or say anything, just block. But today I didn’t, purely because I wanted to see how far this person would go. I just want to say that people have a really twisted understanding of what an opinion actually is,” said Aiava.
“An opinion can be critical, but it can also be respectful, which is exactly what this person and many others aren’t. Constantly commenting on someone’s social media, saying you’re a big fat, you can’t play tennis, you’re fat, yada yada yada, that’s just straight-up bullying,” she added.
The Aussie didn’t stop lashing out at the hater and asked them to back off this unnecessary path of trolling or attacking an athlete or any other personality just because they’re good at something in their field of interest.
“It is disgusting, disrespectful, and I genuinely don’t know why people like this waste their time and energy on athletes who are just literally trying their f*****g best. I’ve dealt with this my entire career, and the way that people think it’s okay just because someone’s a public figure that they can comment this s**t, f*****g disgusting. I can’t speak for every other athlete,” said Aiava
“Still, I do know that the ones that don’t exactly fit the mold of what a tennis player should look like, or any other athlete, are going through very similar situations, probably for their entire life. Body shaming is not a f*****g opinion, and neither is bullying… Stop commenting this s**t because karma is a b***h,” Aiava concluded.
Destanee Aiava Aims to Redeem Her Stand With a Win in Her Doubles Opener at the Australian Open
Tennis is a demanding sport to excel in. There are thousands of players globally who aspire to feature in a Grand Slam or other top events on both the ATP and WTA circuits. Not everyone is successful, and many don’t even get a chance to play a Grand Slam in their professional career, but what is essential is to keep trying every day.
Aiava has been doing that since she turned pro in 2015. Despite countless criticisms and losses, she continues to make an effort on court and aims to qualify in the singles main draw at the Grand Slams and other tour events. The Aussie will seek to prove her haters wrong when she opens her Australian Open account later in a couple of days.
Aiava, alongside her countrywoman Maddison Inglis, is set to take on the Polish-Mexican pairing of Aldila Sutjiadi and Giuliana Olmos in the women’s doubles opening round at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
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