From having suicidal thoughts to clinching her first Grand Slam match win in 2025, Destanee Aiava has seen it all in the last few years. Struggles were aplenty for this 24-year-old Aussie. Even there was a time when we heard her say, “I pretty much lost all my savings to fund my entire Europe trip. I was looking at selling my house or renting it out.” Despite having an inspirational story behind her rapid rise, Aiava has been one of the most criticized players in the women’s Tour. For example, recently she even signaled an unexpected retirement after receiving hate from her critics following her defeat at the final of the ITF Prague event. Is Aiava really considering a retirement, though?

On Sunday, Aiava fell just one step short of clinching the title at the ITF Prague. She went down to the Czech tennis player, Gabriela Knutson with a score line of 4-6,6-3,5-7. Shortly after losing the final match by such a close margin, Aiava seemed to be quite livid with herself. She even threw a plastic chair against the wall to vent her frustration.

Even on social media, she received hate messages and even death threats, from followers who weren’t too pleased with the result. After seeing all these reactions on social media, Aiava came up with a tweet stating, “I’ve made the executive decision to retire due to receiving hate msgs (misogynistic)/comments and death threats after every single loss.” Later on, she even deactivated her X account. But as her never-say-die spirit prevailed, she came up with a tweet that debunked the chatter. She stated, “I was joking yesterday lol.“

However, this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen Destanee Aiava receiving hate on social media. Fashion is a form of self-expression but remember the time when Aiava got heavily criticized for her sartorial choices? She donned several vintage outfits during her campaign at the 2025 AO. It included some of iconic dresses of WTA stars like Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, and Caroline Wozniacki. After seeing her trying something out of the box, some fans slammed and body-shamed her for her appearance.

Criticisms have been a part and parcel of Destanee Aiava’s career, and she’s navigating how to rise beyond them. However, there are times when she has openly admitted to her psychological struggles amid the demanding nature of professional tennis. She once admitted, “I can sometimes get into a really bad headspace and think that I was never going to win a first-round match or I wouldn’t ever qualify.” With time she has now learned to overcome these challenges, and her journey thus far has been truly quite inspiring.

Destanee Aiava makes a shocking revelation about her suicidal thoughts during the tough phases of her career

Destanee Aiava was in the headlines during the 2025 AO. She won three of her qualifier matches before clinching her first-round win against Belgium’s Greet Minnen in a three-set thriller. Although, Aiava went down to America’s Danielle Collins in the second round, during that time the Aussie did manage to rouse curiosity among the fans. Everyone wanted to know: Who’s Destanee Aiava? And soon, the world discovered the Samoan-Australian athlete’s inspirational life.

In a candid interview, Aiava spoke about an incident from 2022. She revealed that she was contemplating jumping off a bridge when three people talked her out of it and helped her reach home safely. “The night of Easter Sunday (17th April) I was going to throw myself off a bridge onto the M1, 3 people drove by, dragged me off the rails, and drove me home. I did not want to make it to my 22nd birthday, but I know my family and friends would be happy to know I’m alive on this day that’s meant to be special,” said Aiava.

Later on in an interview with The Age, she even admitted that it was really a “low time” in her life and it did teach her a lot. She further added, “I had to reach rock bottom to be where I am now. I wouldn’t recommend anyone going to rock bottom.“

Who has been the strongest pillar of support in her tennis journey, though? Well, although Destanee Aiava previously admitted that she lacked role models to guide her in the sport, her husband Corey Gaal has been her constant support through thick and thin. Gaal himself is a tennis pro and so he made things easier for her with his constant guidance. So, when Aiava secured her first round at the 2025 AO, Gaal was among the first ones to pour love and affection for her incredible performance.

Talking about her husband’s incredible support, Destanee Aiava even said, “It helped a lot having Corey around. I don’t think I necessarily need a coach but I just need someone to support me and help take my mind off tennis. I try not to stress too much about game plans.”

Aiava is currently ranked 155th in the world. Do you think she can climb up the ladders further in the 2025 season?