A female tennis player says she is retiring from the sport because of its “hostile” culture that has resulted in death threats, insults, and poor self-esteem.
Destanee Aiava announced she is leaving the sport at the end of the season, after having peaked at No. 147 in the world in 2017, when she was just 17 years old.
‘… a culture that’s racist, misogynistic, homophobic and hostile to anyone who doesn’t fit the mould.’
The Australian departed with a scathing post on her Instagram page, criticizing her soon-to-be former sport for taking away her family, her health, and her self-worth.
“2026 will be my final year on tour playing professional tennis,” the 25-year-old wrote.
After asking if everything she sacrificed for the sport “was actually worth the cost,” the tennis player listed all the reasons she has kept playing over the years despite of her distress, concluding, “In other words tennis was my toxic boyfriend.”
“It also took things from me,” she continued. “My relationship with my body. My health. My family. My self worth. Would I do it all again? I really don’t know.”
Then Aiava got even more direct and a lot more vulgar:
“I want to say a ginormous f**k you to everyone in the tennis community who’s ever made me feel less than.”
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“F**k you to every single gambler who’s sent me hate or death threats. F**k you to the people who sit behind screens on social media, commenting on my body, my career or whatever the f**k they want to nitpick,” Aiava went on.
The tennis player, who is of Samoan descent, launched into criticisms of her sport, seemingly giving it every negative label she could.
“And f**k you to a sport that hides behind so-called class and gentlemanly values. Behind the white outfits and traditions is a culture that’s racist, misogynistic, homophobic and hostile to anyone who doesn’t fit the mould. “
Aiava broadened her explanation in an interview with Australia’s “ABC News Breakfast” and host Catherine Murphy.
“I experienced a lot of racism from parents, people I was playing; just comments at the back of the court and even to this day, I’m still getting racist comments [in] DMs and everything. So yeah, it just, it was never-ending,” Aiava told the host. She added that when she was a young girl who was simply “doing her best,” she faced “constant comments that are racist” as well.
Aiava expanded on her body issues as it relates to tennis, which she said were based on the people around her and “seeing other girls in this sport.”
She noted that she has always had issues with food, and being “not really surrounded by many women” like herself, her bad relationship with food only got worse.
The tennis player concluded by agreeing with the host when asked if governing bodies in tennis need to “fight harder for female players.”
Aiava blamed the governing bodies for prioritizing making money from major tournaments over the needs of tennis players.
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Fearless, Tennis, Racism, Australia, Women’s sports, Misogyny, Hate speech, Sports