Shock retreat, champion shatters tennis world

Young Australian tennis player Destanee Aiava has decided to retire from the tennis world and she communicated it through very harsh words posted on her Instagram account: “2026 will be my last year in professional tennis. From the moment I took my first lesson at Casey Tennis Club, tennis has been my entire life. I have often reflected on what life would have been like if I had chosen something else, and whether it was worth everything I sacrificed for the sport”.

“There was a time in my life when I felt I was very close to the turning point. I was 17 years old, unprepared, and dangerously naive about the consequences of believing in the wrong people. The trajectory of my career was never the same again. I kept playing because I felt I owed it not only to myself, but to anyone who had helped me through my career, to try to get back (on paper) to the level where I felt I belonged. Other times I continued because I was too scared to start again. Or I was bored”.

“I did not know who I was outside of tennis and what my real passion was. In other words, tennis was i, my health, my family and my self-esteem. Would I do it again? I don’t know, but one thing sports has taught me is that there is also a chance to start again. I want to say a huge swear word to anyone in the tennis community who has made me feel less than who I am, to any bettor who has sent me hate or death threats, to the people who sit behind screens or social media commenting on my body and career”.

“Life is not meant to live in suffering or stupidity. My goal is to be able to wake up every day and genuinely say that I love what I do, which I think anyone should deserve. I’m 25, I’ll be 26 this year, and I feel behind everyone else, like I’m starting over from the beginning. I am also scared, however, it is better than living a life that is misaligned with the risk of getting lost” concluded Destanee Aiava.