{"id":470737,"date":"2026-02-15T21:06:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T21:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/470737\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T21:06:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T21:06:07","slug":"tennis-pro-destanee-aiava-condemns-toxic-tennis-culture-in-retirement-announcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/470737\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennis pro Destanee Aiava condemns ‘toxic’ tennis culture in retirement announcement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australian tennis player Destanee Aiava announced she would be retiring from professional play in an open letter that condemned what she called the \u201cracist, misogynistic, homophobic and hostile\u201d culture within the sport.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old posted on Instagram Saturday to say that this will be her final year on tour, adding that tennis has become her entire life. Aiava said she questioned whether everything she sacrificed was actually worth it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere 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,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI was only 17, unprepared and dangerously naive to the consequences of trusting the wrong people.\u201d<\/p>\n

At age 17, Aiava\u2019s world ranking as a singles player was No. 147 and it remained the peak of her career. She is currently ranked No. 235, according to her Women\u2019s Tennis Association profile.<\/a><\/p>\n

Aiava described tennis as her \u201ctoxic boyfriend,\u201d writing that she sometimes played just because she felt that she owed it to people or because she was too scared to start again from scratch. Tennis may have given her friendships and dream experiences, but it also took things from her, she wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cBehind the white outfits and traditions is a culture that\u2019s racist, misogynistic, homophobic and hostile to anyone who doesn\u2019t fit its mould,\u201d Aiava wrote. \u201cLife is not meant to be lived in misery or half assed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aiava acknowledged her Samoan heritage in her letter by thanking the Pacific Islander community for their support. She added that she was \u201cdeeply humbled\u201d by the young girls and boys who have been inspired by her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am proud to have been one of the few you saw on a stage that wasn\u2019t built for us,\u201d Aiava said. \u201cI am proud to have made history for our people. And I am proud of where I come from \u2014 because of all of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her letter, Aiava gave a \u201cginormous f— you\u201d to the people who made her feel \u201cless than.\u201d She also directed that sentiment to people who have sent her death threats and those online who made comments on her body and career.<\/p>\n

The comment section of Aiava\u2019s post was full of support, including a few heart emoji from 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens. Stephens, 32, won her eighth singles title in 2024.<\/p>\n

Aiava said she looks forward to a life led by \u201cpurpose, creativity, and passion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what this year will look like or where tennis fits into it,\u201d Aiava said. \u201cWhat I do know is that this chapter will end on my terms.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australian tennis player Destanee Aiava announced she would be retiring from professional play in an open letter that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":470738,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[99,428],"class_list":["post-470737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/470738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}