Just as the Australian Open has kicked off, Destanee Aiava has made waves on the court – and in the headlines – thanks to her ace performance. The 24-year-old Aussie player claimed victory in her first round at the AO on Monday night, defeating Belgian Gree Minnen and reaching the second round.
Her achievement in the tournament thus far is not only a win for Australia, but a win for young Destanee Aiava, and others of the Pacific Islander community who haven’t seen themselves well represented in the sport.
Speaking to ABC Pacific’s Fresh Off The Field show, Aiava – whose mother was born in American Samoa and father Mark born in New Zealand to Samoan parents – says she often hears from Pacific Island parents, thanking her for being a positive role model for their children.
“I mean, tennis is already lonely as it is, but seeing people that don’t really look like me for my entire life – I’ve kind of struggled with a bit,” Aiava told Fresh off The Field in an interview recorded in December 2024, but reshared by ABC Pacific on social media this month as the Australian Open takes place.
“I do get a lot of messages, and even just [people] passing by, different people coming up to me and saying that their ‘kids have started tennis because of you’. And most of the time they’re all Islander, which is really nice,” Aiava continued.
The tennis star, whose mother Rosie played for Wallaroos (the Australian national women’s rugby union team), says she grew up seeing a certain image projected when it comes to the sports that her community would play professionally.
“Growing up, they were only playing rugby and netball,” she explained. “It’s quite different seeing people like me playing tennis now a lot more – still not as much as you’d like to see – but yeah, it is really special… another confirmation that we can also play, you know, other sports that aren’t just rugby or netball or, I don’t know, becoming a rapper,” she laughed.
Aiava acknowledged that her position as a high-profile tennis player has helped challenge the stereotypes, and she humbly explained that being a role model has also come with its own pressures and challenges.
“I am starting to wrap my head around it a lot more now than I was when I was younger,” she reflected. “I think because I was also, you know, trying to find myself and also struggling mentally off court as well with tennis.
“I try and stay as authentic as I can without offending other people. So I don’t know, it’s like a fine line between me influencing the younger generation, but also staying true to myself.”
Aiava made headlines in 2024 when she became the first female tennis player with Samoan heritage to make it through to the US Open Singles main draw. But making history has long been a part of her career when seven years earlier, in 2017, she became the youngest person of Pacific Island heritage to make a Grand Slam appearance during her Australian Open debut at age 16, plus the second person of Samoan heritage to make a Grand Slam. As ABC reports, it was in that same year that the tennis player “made history when she became the first player, male or female, born in 2000 or later to participate in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament”.
Fast forward to the Australian Open 2025 this week, Aiava was all smiles after she reached round two of the AO for the first time in her career, winning 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (10-5) against Belgian Greet Minnen.
“I’m just super happy to get through and finally win a first round of singles in a grand slam, especially at my home slam, as well,” she told media after the match. “It was really nice and special. The crowd got me through.”