Destanee Aiava calls tennis 'racist, misogynistic, homophobic' as she announces retirement with explosive social media post
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Updated 15/02/2026 at 19:10 GMT
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Destanee Aiava announced that she will step away from tennis with a social media post that accused the sport of being "racist, misogynistic, homophobic and hostile to anyone who doesn't fit the mould". The Australian player described tennis as a "toxic boyfriend" as she took aim at critics and online trolls after announcing her intention to retire.
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Destanee Aiava has branded tennis "racist, misogynistic, homophobic and hostile" in an explosive social media post announcing her retirement.
Describing the sport as a "toxic boyfriend", Australian Aiava lashed out at a culture she saw as "hostile to anyone who doesn’t fit the mould".
Aiava, who is of Pacific Island descent, said in the post on Instagram that she would be retiring as she hit out at critics and online trolls. It was unclear whether she was stepping aside with immediate effect or continuing until the end of the 2026 campaign.
"I want to say a ginormous f*** you to everyone in the tennis community who’s ever made me feel less than," she wrote.
"F*** you to every single gambler who’s sent me hate or death threats. F*** you to the people who sit behind screens on social media, commenting on my body, my career, or whatever the f*** they want to nitpick. And f*** 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."
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Aiava climbed to a career-high singles ranking of No. 147 in 2017 after enjoying a rapid rise as a teenager, but she is currently ranked No. 321.
She defeated current world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in 2019, while last June she won a doubles title in Birmingham alongside Cristina Bucsa of Spain and reached the second round of the Australian Open singles draw for the first time.
After failing to qualify for the Melbourne event this year, Aiava competed in the doubles alongside Maddison Inglis, but lost in the first round and has not had a competitive match since.
"I often wondered what my life would have looked like if I’d chosen anything else and whether everything I sacrificed for this sport was actually worth the cost," she said.
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"There 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.
"I was only 17, unprepared and dangerously naive to the consequences of trusting the wrong people. The trajectory of my career was never the same after that.
"Sometimes I kept playing because I felt like I owed it to not only myself but to everyone who had helped me throughout my career, to try and get back to where [on paper] I belonged.
"Other times I kept going because I was too scared to start again. Or I was bored. I also didn’t know who I was outside of tennis and what my true passion was. I was constantly looking for that thing that gave me peace instead of grief.
"In other words, tennis was my toxic boyfriend."
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Aiava listed several things she was grateful to the sport for, from travels that "people only dream of", to close friends and a "platform to share my story".
But she added: "It also took things from me. My relationship with my body. My health. My family. My self-worth. Would I do it all again? I really don’t know, but one thing this sport taught me is that there is always a chance to start fresh."
The 25-year-old thanked the Pacific Islander community and said she was "proud to have been one of the few you saw on a stage that wasn’t built for us" and "proud to have made history for our people", as well as thanking friends, family, sponsors and others.
She explained she is not yet certain what the future holds but is determined to seek happiness and fulfilment outside the sport.
"Life is not meant to be lived in misery and half-assed," she said.
"My ultimate goal is to be able to wake up every day and genuinely say that I love what I do - which I think everyone deserves a chance at.
"I’m 25, turning 26 this year and I feel so far behind everyone else, like I’m starting from scratch. I’m also scared. But that’s better than living a life that’s misaligned, or being around constant comparison and losing yourself."
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