Destanee Aiava

Destanee Aiava

Aiava at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships
Full name	Destanee Gabriella Aiava
Country (sports)	Australia
Residence	Narre Warren, Victoria, Australia
Born	(2000-05-10) 10 May 2000 (age 24) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro	2015
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach	Nicole Kriz
Prize money	$887,012
Singles
Career record	250–158
Career titles	10 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 147 (11 September 2017)
Current ranking	No. 155 (24 February 2025)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	2R (2025)
French Open	Q1 (2017, 2018, 2024)
Wimbledon	Q3 (2017)
US Open	1R (2024)
Doubles
Career record	142–88
Career titles	14 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 133 (5 August 2024)
Current ranking	No. 158 (18 November 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	2R (2024)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	1R (2017, 2025)
Last updated on: 24 February 2025.

Destanee Gabriella Aiava (born 10 May 2000) is an Australian professional tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of world No. 147 in singles, achieved on 11 September 2017, and No. 133 in doubles, achieved on 5 August 2024.

Aiava has won nine singles and 13 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

Aiava was born in Melbourne to a New Zealand father of Samoan descent and a mother from American Samoa. ^[2] Her mother, Rosie, was a professional kickboxer and rugby player who represented the Australian national rugby team and her father, Mark, was a professional powerlifter. ^[3] In 2005, at four years of age, Aiava watched Serena Williams win the Australian Open final and was inspired to begin playing tennis. ^[4]

Junior career

2012–2016

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. ^[5] 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

2015–2016

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. ^[6]

2017: First titles and major debut

Aiava commenced the year by qualifying for the Brisbane International and her first appearance in a WTA Tour main draw. ^[7] Aiava defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the first round, ^[8] 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. ^[9] 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 being granted 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. ^[10] The following week, Aiava won the Australian Open Wildcard Playoff. ^{[11] [12]}

2018: Third ITF title

Aiava was awarded a wildcard into the Brisbane International ^[13] where she lost in the first round to another wildcard entry, Ajla Tomljanović. ^[14]

Aiava also received 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. ^[15] Aiava reached the quarterfinals of the Burnie International and Zhuhai Open, before reaching the final of the Clay Court International. ^[16] In April, she won the title at the Osaka event; her third on the ITF Circuit and first title outside Australia. ^[17]

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

2019

Aiava began the season at the Brisbane International where 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. ^[18]

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

2022

In January 2022, Aiava lost in the first round of the Australian Open qualifying. ^[20]

2024: US Open debut

Ranked No. 180, she qualified for the main draw of the 2024 US Open making her debut at this major with wins over Gergana Topalova, fourth seed Mai Hontama and Ana Konjuh. ^[21] She lost in the first round to fourth seed Elena Rybakina. ^[22]

2025: First win at a major

Aiava defeated Eva Lys in the final qualifying round at the Australian Open to make it into the main-draw. ^[23] She then claimed her first Grand Slam tournament win by defeating Greet Minnen in a match which went to a deciding set tiebreak. ^{[24] [25]} Aiava lost in the second round to 10th seed Danielle Collins in another three set match. ^[26]

Grand Slam performance timelines

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

Tournament	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	SR	W–L
Australian Open	Q1	1R	1R	1R	Q3	1R	Q1	Q2	Q3	2R	0 / 5	1–5
French Open	A	Q1	Q1	A	A	A	A	A	Q1		0 / 0	0–0
Wimbledon	A	Q3	A	Q1	NH	Q1	A	A	Q2		0 / 0	0–0
US Open	A	Q2	Q1	Q1	A	A	A	A	1R		0 / 1	0–1
Win–loss	0–0	0–1	0–1	0–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–1	1–1	0 / 6	0–6

Doubles

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

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 21 (10 titles, 11 runner-ups)

Legend W60 tournaments (0–3) W40/50 tournaments (1–0) W25/35 tournaments (9–6) W15 tournaments (0–2)

Finals by surface Hard (8–9) 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
Win	9–10	Oct 2024	ITF Cairns, Australia	W35	Hard	Maddison Inglis	6–2, 4–6, 7–5
Win	10–10	Nov 2024	Brisbane QTC Tennis International, Australia	W50	Hard	Lizette Cabrera	7–6(4), 4–6, 6–3
Loss	10–11	Feb 2025	ITF Prague, Czech Republic	W60	Hard (i)	Gabriela Knutson	4–6, 6–3, 5–7

Doubles: 25 (14 titles, 11 runner-ups)

Legend W100 tournaments (1–0) W80 tournaments (0–1) W60/75 tournaments (3–5) W40/50 tournaments (1–0) W25/35 tournaments (9–5)

Finals by surface Hard (13–8) Clay (1–3)

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 International, 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	ITF 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	ITF 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
Win	13–9	May 2024	Open Villa de Madrid, Spain	W100	Clay	Eleni Christofi	Andrea Gámiz Eva Vedder	6–3, 2–6, [10–5]
Loss	13–10	Oct 2024	ITF Cairns, Australia	W35	Hard	Alexandra Bozovic	Petra Hule Alana Parnaby	6–3, 2–6, [2–10]
Loss	13–11	Oct 2024	2024 NSW Open, Australia	W75	Hard	Maddison Inglis	Lizette Cabrera Taylah Preston	1–6, 6–3, [8–10]
Win	14–11	Nov 2024	Brisbane QTC Tennis International, Australia	W50	Hard	Maddison Inglis	Yuki Naito Ankita Raina	6–3, 6–4

Top 10 wins

#	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

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. Momoisea, Penina (27 August 2024). "Destanee Aiava becomes first female tennis player with Samoan heritage to play a US Open main draw". ABC Pacific. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
4. McCarvel, Nick (11 January 2017). "Young and powerful, Destanee Aiava on the brink of a breakthrough at Australian Open". ESPN. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
5. "DESTANEE AIAVA WINS LONGINES FUTURE TENNIS ACES TOURNAMENT AT ROLAND GARROS". tennis.com.au.
6. "AIAVA BOOKS AUSTRALIAN OPEN BERTH". Tennis Australia. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
7. "AIAVA QUALIFIES FOR BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL". Tennis Australia. 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
8. "AIAVA STUNS MATTEK-SANDS, SETS WTA RECORD". Tennis Australia. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
9. "FED CUP DEBUT FOR DESTINE AIAVA". Tennis Australia. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
10. "Fourlis wins 18/u title for Australian Open wildcard". Tennis Australia. 9 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
11. "DESTANEE AIAVA AND ALEX DE MINAUR WIN AUSTRALIAN OPEN WILDCARDS". Tennis Australia. 17 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
12. "Aiava claims wildcard entry for Australian Open". 17 December 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
13. "Aiava and Tomljanovic earn Brisbane wildcards". 22 December 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
14. "Azarenka withdraws from Australian Open amid ongoing custody battle". TheGuardian.com . 8 January 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
15. "Halep survives date with Destanee in opening round". Reuters. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
16. "AIAVA FALLS IN CANBERRA FINAL". Tennis Australia. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
17. "DESTANEE AIAVA CLAIMS ITF TITLE IN JAPAN". Tennis Australia. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
18. "Destanee Aiava finally claims a Canberra title – Robicia Tennis". robiciatennis.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019.
19. Aiava was the runner-up in 2016 and 2018 (photo by Rob Keating, http://robiciatennis.com )
20. "Australian Open 2022: 14 Aussie Women Set for Qualifying". Tennis Australia . 10 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
21. "A record-breaking six Australians qualify at US Open 2024; Destanee Aiava is among six Australian players to secure a coveted main-draw spot through qualifying at US Open 2024.". tennis.com. 22 August 2024.
22. "US Open: Rybakina sees off spirited effort by qualifier Aiava". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
23. "With all eyes on her, Aiava qualifies for Australian Open". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
24. "Aiava completes day of comebacks at Australian Open". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
25. "Wildcard winners give Australian fans reasons for optimism in Melbourne". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
26. "'Thanks guys, love you': Danielle Collins tells fans to 'shut up' in win over Destanee Aiava". Nine. Retrieved 16 January 2025.

Further reading

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

External links

• Destanee Aiava at the Women's Tennis Association
• Destanee Aiava at the International Tennis Federation
• Destanee Aiava at Tennis Australia