Destanee Aiava

Summary

Destanee Gabriella Aiava (born 10 May 2000) is an Australian professional tennis player.

Destanee Aiava
Full nameDestanee Gabriella Aiava
Country (sports) Australia
ResidenceNarre Warren, Victoria
Born (2000-05-10) 10 May 2000 (age 23)
Melbourne, Victoria
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro2015
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachNicole Kriz
Prize money$697,101
Singles
Career record210–136 (60.7%)
Career titles7 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 147 (11 September 2017)
Current rankingNo. 197 (4 March 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open1R (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021)
French OpenQ1 (2017, 2018)
WimbledonQ3 (2017)
US OpenQ2 (2017)
Doubles
Career record120–76 (61.2%)
Career titles12 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 137 (29 January 2024)
Current rankingNo. 145 (4 March 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (2024)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open1R (2017)
Last updated on: 4 March 2024.

She has career-high WTA rankings of 147 in singles, achieved on 11 September 2017, and of 137 in doubles, achieved on 29 January 2024. Aiava has won seven singles titles and twelve doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit.

She made her Grand Slam main-draw debut after winning the 2016 U18 Australian Championships, granting her a wildcard into the 2017 Australian Open. She thus became the first player, male or female, born in 2000 or later to participate in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament.[1]

Early life edit

Aiava is of Samoan descent; her father, Mark, was born in New Zealand to Samoan parents, and her mother, Rosie, was born in American Samoa.[2]

Junior career edit

2012–2016 edit

In 2012, at the age of 12, Aiava represented Australia at Roland Garros in the Longines Future Tennis Aces Tournament. Competing against fifteen of the top under-13 female tennis players, Aiava won the tournament and won the right to play alongside Steffi Graf in an exhibition match.[3] The years following, Aiava mainly played on the junior circuit. In 2014, she won the Tecnifibre Tennis Central Championships and NZ ITF Summer Championships in New Zealand as well as Australian International's in Queensland and Victoria. At the age of 14, she won the U18 Canadian world ranking event in Montreal, Quebec.

Professional career edit

2015–2016 edit

In early 2015, Aiava made her professional debut at the Burnie International, after receiving wildcards in the singles and doubles, where she lost early in both. At the Launceston Tennis International, Aiava won her first professional main-draw match against Lu Jiajing. She also made the quarterfinals of a $15k tournament in Melbourne in April 2015. In March 2016, Aiava made her first career final at a $25k tournament in Canberra. In December 2016, she won the U18 Girls' Australian Championships and earned a wildcard into the 2017 Australian Open. She thus became the first player born in the 21st century to play at a Grand Slam championship.[4]

2017: First titles and Grand Slam debut edit

Aiava commenced the year by qualifying for the Brisbane International to make her maiden WTA main-draw appearance.[5] Aiava defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the first round,[6] before losing to two-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 9, Svetlana Kuznetsova. Aiava made her major debut at the Australian Open as a wildcard, losing in round one to Mona Barthel.

In February, Aiava won the first ITF title of her career, winning the $25k event in Perth by defeating Viktória Kužmová in the final. The following month, she won another $25k title, this time in Mornington, beating Barbora Krejčíková in the final. In April, Aiava was named in the Australia Fed Cup team for the first time.[7] In May, she reached the semifinals of the Open Saint-Gaudens, before losing the first round of qualifying at the French Open. In June, Aiava lost in the final round of Wimbledon qualifying. In September, she reached the second round of qualifying for the US Open before granting a wildcard into Tournoi de Québec, where she lost in the first round. In October, Aiava reached the final of the Canberra International. In December, she was unable to defend her girls' title, losing to Jaimee Fourlis in a reversal of the result from 2016.[8] The following week, Aiava won the Australian Open Wildcard Playoff.[9][10]

2018: Third ITF title edit

Aiava was awarded a wildcard to Brisbane International[11] where she lost in the first round to another wildcard entry, Ajla Tomljanović.[12]

Aiava received another wildcard for the Australian Open, where she was defeated in the first round by world No. 1 and top seed, Simona Halep. Aiava had two set points in the first set before going off-court to receive a medical time out. She subsequently lost the match in straight sets.[13] Aiava reached the quarterfinals of the Burnie International and Zhuhai Open, before reaching the final of the Clay Court International.[14] In April, she won the title at the Osaka event; her third on the ITF Circuit and first title outside Australia.[15]

In May, Aiava lost in the first round of French Open qualifying.

2019 edit

Aiava began season at the Brisbane International. She qualified for the main draw with victories over Vania King, Mandy Minella and Christina McHale. She then defeated Kristina Mladenovic in the first round, before falling to second seed Naomi Osaka. Aiava received her third Australian Open wildcard entry, losing to 17th seed Madison Keys. She then won the Clay Court International title on March 24 by defeating world No. 289, Risa Ozaki.[16]

 
Canberra – 24 March 2019: Destanee Aiava (right) after winning the Clay Court International final against Risa Ozaki.[17]

2022 edit

In January, Aiava lost in the first round of the Australian Open qualifying.[18]

Grand Slam performance timelines edit

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Singles edit

Tournament 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 SR W–L Win%
Australian Open Q1 1R 1R 1R Q3 1R Q1 Q2 Q3 0 / 4 0–4 0%
French Open A Q1 Q1 A A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Wimbledon A Q3 A Q1 NH Q1 A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
US Open A Q2 Q1 Q1 A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 0–0 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 4 0–4 0%

Doubles edit

Tournament 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 SR W–L Win%
Australian Open 1R A 1R 1R 1R A A 2R 0 / 5 1–5 17%
French Open A A A A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Wimbledon A A A NH A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
US Open A A A A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 0 / 5 1–5 17%

ITF Circuit finals edit

Singles: 17 (7 titles, 10 runner-ups) edit

Legend
W60 tournaments (0–2)
W25 tournaments (7–6)
W15 tournaments (0–2)
Finals by surface
Hard (5–8)
Clay (2–2)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 May 2016 ITF Canberra, Australia W25 Clay   Eri Hozumi 3–6, 6–3, 6–7( )
Loss 0–2 Sep 2016 ITF Tweed Heads, Australia W25 Hard   Lizette Cabrera 3–6, 7–5, 2–6
Win 1–2 Feb 2017 ITF Perth, Australia W25 Hard   Viktória Kužmová 6–1, 6–1
Win 2–2 Mar 2017 ITF Mornington, Australia W25 Clay   Barbora Krejčíková 6–2, 4-6, 6-2
Loss 2–3 Nov 2017 Canberra International, Australia W60 Hard   Olivia Rogowska 1–6, 2–6
Loss 2–4 Mar 2018 Clay Court International, Australia W60 Clay   Dalila Jakupović 4–6, 4–6
Win 3–4 Apr 2018 ITF Osaka, Japan W25 Hard   Rebecca Marino 6–3, 7–6(2)
Loss 3–5 Sep 2018 ITF Cairns, Australia W25 Hard   Astra Sharma 6–0, 6–7(5), 1–6
Win 4–5 Mar 2019 Clay Court International, Australia W25 Clay   Risa Ozaki 6–2, 6–2
Loss 4–6 Feb 2020 Launceston International, Australia W25 Hard   Asia Muhammad 4–6, 3–6
Loss 4–7 Feb 2020 ITF Perth, Australia W25 Hard   Maddison Inglis 4–6, 6–7(4)
Loss 4–8 Jul 2022 ITF Caloundra, Australia W15 Hard   Talia Gibson 6–7(4), 4–6
Loss 4–9 Jul 2022 ITF Caloundra, Australia W15 Hard   Talia Gibson 4–6, 2–3 ret.
Loss 4–10 Sep 2022 ITF Darwin, Australia W25 Hard   Alexandra Bozovic 1–6, 4–6
Win 5–10 Nov 2022 ITF Traralgon, Australia W25 Hard   Lizette Cabrera 6–3, 6–7(4), 6–4
Win 6–10 Aug 2023 ITF Aldershot, United Kingdom W25 Hard   Alex Eala 3–6, 6–4, 6–1
Win 7–10 Sep 2023 ITF Cairns, Australia W25 Hard   Lizette Cabrera w/o
Win 8–10 Nov 2023 Sydney Challenger, Australia W60 Hard   Astra Sharma 6–3, 6–4

Doubles: 21 (12 titles, 9 runner-ups) edit

Legend
W80 tournaments (0–1)
W60 tournaments (3–4)
W25 tournaments (9–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (12–6)
Clay (0–3)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Aug 2018 ITF Nonthaburi, Thailand W25 Hard   Naiktha Bains   Wang Xinyu
  Wang Xiyu
5–7, 7–5, [4–10]
Loss 0–2 Nov 2018 Canberra International, Australia W60 Hard   Naiktha Bains   Ellen Perez
  Arina Rodionova
7–6(5), 3–6, [7–10]
Loss 0–3 Mar 2019 Clay Court International, Australia W25 Clay   Ellen Perez   Naiktha Bains
  Tereza Mihalikova
6–4, 2–6, [4–10]
Loss 0–4 Apr 2019 Dothan Pro Classic, United States W80 Clay   Astra Sharma   Caroline Dolehide
  Usue Maitane Arconada
6–7(5), 4–6
Win 1–4 Sep 2019 Darwin International, Australia W60 Hard   Lizette Cabrera   Alison Bai
  Jaimee Fourlis
6–4, 2–6, [10–3]
Win 2–4 Oct 2019 ITF Brisbane, Australia W25 Hard   Naiktha Bains   Alison Bai
  Paige Hourigan
6–3, 6–3
Win 3–4 June 2021 ITF Madrid, Spain W25 Hard   Olivia Gadecki   Mana Ayukawa
  Han Na-lae
6–3, 6–3
Loss 3–5 Oct 2022 ITF Cairns, Australia W25 Hard   Lisa Mays   Naiktha Bains
  Alexandra Bozovic
4–6, 4–6
Win 4–5 Nov 2022 Sydney Challenger, Australia W60 Hard   Lisa Mays   Alexandra Osborne
  Jessy Rompies
5–7, 6–3, [10–6]
Win 5–5 Nov 2022 ITF Traralgon, Australia W25 Hard   Katherine Westbury   Ankita Raina
  Priska Madelyn Nugroho
6–1, 4–6, [10–5]
Win 6–5 Feb 2023 Burnie International, Australia W25 Hard   Naiktha Bains   Lily Fairclough
  Olivia Gadecki
7–5, 6–3
Loss 6–6 Mar 2023 Clay Court International, Australia W60 Clay   Olivia Gadecki   Erina Hayashi
  Yuki Naito
6–7(2), 5-7
Loss 6–7 June 2023 Madrid Open, Spain W60 Hard   Berfu Cengiz   Makenna Jones
  Jamie Loeb
4–6, 7–5, [6–10]
Win 7–7 Jul 2023 ITF Foxhills, UK W25 Hard   Rutuja Bhosale   Talia Gibson
  Petra Hule
6-2, 6-3
Win 8–7 Aug 2023 ITF Aldershot, UK W25 Hard   Sarah Beth Grey   Erina Hayashi
  Saki Imamura
6-4, 6-3
Win 9–7 Sep 2023 ITF Perth, Australia W25 Hard   Maddison Inglis   Misaki Matsuda
  Naho Sato
6-1, 6-4
Win 10–7 Sep 2023 ITF Perth, Australia W25 Hard   Maddison Inglis   Talia Gibson
  Taylah Preston
6-3, 7–6(3)
Win 11–7 Oct 2023 ITF Cairns, Australia W25 Hard   Taylah Preston   Roisin Gilheany
  Alicia Smith
7-6(5), 7-5
Win 12–7 Oct 2023 Sydney Challenger, Australia W60 Hard   Maddison Inglis   Kyōka Okamura
  Ayano Shimizu
6–0, 6–0
Loss 12–8 Nov 2023 Brisbane International, Australia W60 Hard   Maddison Inglis   Talia Gibson
  Priscilla Hon
6–4, 5–7, [5–10]
Loss 12–9 Feb 2024 ITF Traralgon, Australia W35 Hard   Tenika McGiffin   Yuki Naito
  Naho Sato
1–6, 3–6

Top 10 wins edit

# Player Rank Tournament Surface Rd Score DAR
2019
1.   Aryna Sabalenka No. 10 Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands Grass 1R 7–6(3), 1–6, 6–4 No. 214

References edit

  1. ^ Schlink, Leo (21 December 2016). "Australian Open: Destanee Aiava to become first player born this century to play in Grand Slam". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Tennis: The Australian Melting Pot". 25 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 August 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  3. ^ "DESTANEE AIAVA WINS LONGINES FUTURE TENNIS ACES TOURNAMENT AT ROLAND GARROS". tennis.com.au.
  4. ^ "AIAVA BOOKS AUSTRALIAN OPEN BERTH". Tennis Australia. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  5. ^ "AIAVA QUALIFIES FOR BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL". Tennis Australia. 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  6. ^ "AIAVA STUNS MATTEK-SANDS, SETS WTA RECORD". Tennis Australia. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  7. ^ "FED CUP DEBUT FOR DESTINE AIAVA". Tennis Australia. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  8. ^ "Fourlis wins 18/u title for Australian Open wildcard". Tennis Australia. 9 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  9. ^ "DESTANEE AIAVA AND ALEX DE MINAUR WIN AUSTRALIAN OPEN WILDCARDS". Tennis Australia. 17 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  10. ^ "Aiava claims wildcard entry for Australian Open". 17 December 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Aiava and Tomljanovic earn Brisbane wildcards". 22 December 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Azarenka withdraws from Australian Open amid ongoing custody battle". TheGuardian.com. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Halep survives date with Destanee in opening round". Reuters. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  14. ^ "AIAVA FALLS IN CANBERRA FINAL". Tennis Australia. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  15. ^ "DESTANEE AIAVA CLAIMS ITF TITLE IN JAPAN". Tennis Australia. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  16. ^ "Destanee Aiava finally claims a Canberra title – Robicia Tennis". robiciatennis.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019.
  17. ^ Aiava was the runner-up in 2016 and 2018 (photo by Rob Keating, http://robiciatennis.com )
  18. ^ "Australian Open 2022: 14 Aussie Women Set for Qualifying". Tennis Australia. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.

Further reading edit

  • Herald Sun
  • The Sydney Morning Herald
  • The Sydney Morning Herald
  • Herald Sun
  • Courier Mail
  • UBI Tennis

External links edit