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Destanee Aiava of Australia returns a serve during the women’s singles match against Simona Halep of Romania at the Melbourne Summer Tennis Championships in Melbourne. January 5, 2024
photo: AFP/William West
Destanie Ava made history last week when she became the first player of Pacific Island descent to compete in the U.S. Open.
The tournament is one of the major tennis tournaments in the world.
She is of Samoan descent and lives in Australia with her family.
But the 24-year-old failed to build on her performance in qualifying, losing to world number four Elena Rybakina 6-1, 7-6 in the first round.
In qualifying, she won three straight matches in the main draw qualifier in New York, defeating Gergana Topalova, fourth seed Mai Hontama and top 20 player Ana Konjuh to secure her spot.
Aiva was ranked 194th in the tournament, but she could not withstand the pressure of the 2022 Wimbledon champion.
The U.S. Open website said that Rybakina started the game with an ace, and 26 minutes later, she defeated Iva, who was participating in the U.S. Open for the first time, 6-1 to win the first set.
Rybakina broke the 24-year-old Australian early in the match to lead 3-1, and broke again in the sixth game to lead 5-1 and take the set.
The second set was played in the stands, with both sides holding serve in the first six games, but when Aiyava’s forehand went into the net, Rybakina led 4-3.
Aiava broke in the next game and tied the score at 4. The most crucial game of the match was when Aiava was leading 6-5, Rybakina had to hold serve and dragged the game into a tiebreak.
However, at this point, Rybakina’s first serve began to make mistakes. Six points started with mistakes, including Rybakina’s fourth and fifth double faults in the second half of the twelfth game. In the end, Rybakina won with a serve winner, tying the score to 6-6.
In the tie-break, Rybakina dominated, taking a 2-0 lead with a smash-volley, then a 3-0 lead with a forehand winner, taking the fourth point on a double fault by Aiyava, then a deep winner for a 5-0 lead before Aiyava won another point. At 6-1, Aiyava’s forehand went out of bounds, giving Rybakina match point.
In the end, Rybakina, the ace queen of the 2024 Grand Slam, hit another eight aces, while also making five double faults.
Personal struggles and love of tennis
In an interview with a tennis website, Preemptive strikeAva said she attempted suicide on Easter two years ago.
But after recovering and getting some help, she’s back to being one of the world’s top players.
Although she struggled in lower-level events last year and didn’t win much prize money, she finally made her mark in the majors when she qualified for the U.S. Open as a main draw player.
She also earned herself $100,000 in the process.
She said it was exciting to win three matches and advance.
“It feels really good to win three qualifying rounds,” Aiyawa told The First Serve. “I’ve been in the same situation a few times before and always lost, but (the third-round win) is extra special for me.”
“I did think about my past experiences,” Aiva admitted. “From the first round, I didn’t think about making it big, but just taking it one fight at a time.
“My goal was to go out and enjoy the game because you never know what’s going to happen next, (and) obviously my hard work paid off.”
Aiva defeated former world number 20 and 2016 U.S. Open quarterfinalist Ana Konjuh in her third match.
“Everyone played really well throughout the tournament and I felt like every match was going to be tough, especially the Grand Slam qualifiers,” she said.
“I was beaten in the first game (against Konjuh) and I was very nervous, but I persevered and won in the end. I’m so happy.”
Ava was one of a record six Australian players to qualify for the US Open, marking the first time in the tournament’s history that five Australian women have made it through qualifying to the first week of competition.
She told thefirstserve that she has learned a lot over the past few years and that past experiences have helped her keep a level head.
“It’s easier for me because I have so many interests besides tennis,” she said.
“I’ve thought about what I would do if I stopped now. I’m on the pitch on my own terms and all I want to do is enjoy it as much as possible.
“If I lose the last qualifying round or even the first round it will be tough. I have different feelings every week. It depends on whether I win or lose.”
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