Destanee Aiava feared she would be forgotten after her memorable resurgence at this year’s Australian Open.
Abandoned by sponsors – including Nike – after not being able to replicate her junior feats, Aiava tumbled into the tennis wilderness as her ranking spiralled from a career-high No.147 as a teenager to outside the top 500.
Destanee Aiava will compete in her first Roland-Garros main draw this month.Credit: Simon Schluter
But Aiava was determined not to be a footnote in tennis history, grinding her way back. She qualified at last year’s US Open before going on an impressive run from qualifying to the second round at Melbourne Park in January.
The people who matter did not forget what she achieved.
Australia’s Billie Jean King Cup captain, Sam Stosur, rang Aiava to break the news that she was receiving the country’s reciprocal wildcard into the women’s singles main draw at Roland-Garros, which starts on May 25.
“I’m really excited. I played [Roland-Garros] quallies last year after six years of not making the cut, so that was great, but I was shocked to get the call from Sam that I got the main draw wildcard,” Aiava told this masthead.
“I honestly didn’t think I was in contention for it. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, but I’m trying to prepare as best I can.”
Tennis Australia rewarded 157th-ranked Aiava based on her past two grand slam results, and despite her being ranked lower than Talia Gibson (127), Daria Saville (132), Priscilla Hon (142), Astra Sharma (154) and Maddison Inglis (155).
She will join fellow Australians Daria Kasatkina – who switched allegiances from Russia in March – Kim Birrell, Ajla Tomljanovic and Olivia Gadecki in the women’s draw.
“They feel like I’ve done really well in the big moments,” said Aiava, who turned 25 on Saturday.
Aiava hopes to make her mark on Parisian clay.Credit: Getty Images
“I felt really supported by all the selectors, so it’s nice to see that my results in the big tournaments counted for something.”
The sponsors are trickling back, too, even if they are not yet as glamorous as Nike.
Aiava signed an agent after the Australian Open – Neon Sports’ James Robertson – did a one-off promotion for Bonds’ Move range in April, has received packages from brands such as cosmetic store Mecca, and struck a deal with activewear company LSKD.
It means the fanfare from donning vintage outfits worn by champions Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic and Serena Williams won’t extend to Roland-Garros.
“I’ll be wearing LSKD clothing on court, so I don’t have to shop for outfits any more at Kmart and places like that,” Aiava said.
“Everyone is still asking me if I’m going to keep going with the vintage outfits, but it’s too expensive. I feel a lot better being supported by a brand that wants to help me out.”
Aiava’s best results since leaving Australia were making the final then semi-final at the back-to-back $75,000 ITF tournaments in Prague and Trnava in the Czech Republic, while she beat former world No.38 Heather Watson at her most recent event in Japan.
Her 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 loss to local player Gabriela Knutson in the Prague final came with notoriety for throwing a plastic chair across the court afterwards.
Former junior prodigy Aiava is ascending the tennis rankings again.Credit: AP
It was a heat-of-the-moment reaction from Aiava, who has borderline personality disorder, which impacts how people manage emotions and can result in mood swings and impulsive behaviour.
“I hate losing so much. It’s not even just tennis as well,” she said.
“It could be a board game, and I’m flipping my table over. It’s an issue, but that [reaction in Prague] was just in the moment. I was really pissed off that I lost, the girl I played was Czech, and the entire crowd was really tough.”
Aiava knows how her emotions can get out of control, so she has the awareness to occasionally remove herself – at least competitively – from social events such as games nights.
Clay used to be Aiava’s favourite surface, but she has not played on it this year. She has trained on en-tout-cas courts in Upper Beaconsfield in her brief return to Melbourne and will fly to Strasbourg on Wednesday to try to qualify for the WTA event there ahead of Roland-Garros.
If she misses the cut, Aiava will train with fellow Australians ahead of her main draw debut in Paris.
“I don’t find it too hard to adjust to clay,” she said. “I feel like I can do well, and I would love to use my wildcard as best I can.”
West Australian world No.129 Tristan Schoolkate received TA’s wildcard into the men’s draw as he attempts to win a round at a major for the third time.
“My team and I have been putting in the work every day, always striving to reach new heights,” Schoolkate said. “I’m excited for the chance to compete against the world’s best on the clay in Paris.”
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