Aiava Blasts Tennis Culture, Announces Retirement
Australian player Destanee Aiava announced she will retire at the end of 2026 with a scathing indictment of tennis culture as "racist, misogynistic, homophobic and hostile." The 25-year-old's explosive social media post has sparked intense debate within the tennis community. Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton have set up an all-American final at the Dallas Open.
- Aiava was a former junior prodigy who, at the 2017 Australian Open, became the first player born in the 21st century to play in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament. - The Australian, who is of Samoan heritage, reached a career-high singles ranking of 147 in 2017 and is currently ranked 321. - In her social media post, Aiava also directed an expletive at gamblers who have sent her death threats and online trolls who have commented on her body and career. - She wrote that the sport had negatively impacted her relationship with her body, health, family, and self-worth, and described tennis as her "toxic boyfriend." - Aiava has previously been open about her mental health struggles, revealing in 2022 that three strangers had intervened to prevent her from taking her own life. - The Dallas Open final was a matchup between the tournament's top two seeds and the highest-ranked American men in the world: No. 7 Taylor Fritz and No. 9 Ben Shelton. - Ben Shelton won the final 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, saving three match points in the deciding set before breaking Fritz's serve to win the title. - The victory marked Shelton's fourth career ATP title and his first on an indoor hard court.
