Destanee Aiava has won her first professional tennis title since switching her allegiance from Australia to New Zealand, claiming the W15 Brisbane without dropping a single set.
The 26-year-old beat Australia's Belle Thompson 6-2, 6-3 in the final.
Aiava had announced her intent to retire from tennis in February, describing the sport's culture as "racist, misogynistic, homophobic and hostile" and calling it her "toxic boyfriend" who "hides behind so-called class and gentlemanly values." She had failed to qualify for the Australian Open singles main draw earlier this year.
In June 2026 she reversed course, confirming she would keep playing after the end of the 2026 season. Alongside that decision, she announced she would no longer represent Australia.
A difficult time off the court
Aiava's on-court success has come during a hard period in her personal life. In a post on her Instagram story, she revealed she had been texting her father, Hassan Aiava, about her life updates even though he has been in a coma.
She wrote that she had originally texted her father hoping he could read through his phone and catch up on everything he missed. After missing her own birthday because of his coma, she said she got angry and stopped sending updates. She said she had planned to text him four days earlier for her brother Toriq's birthday but knew he would be upset about missing both birthdays. She described it as very weird grieving someone who is still alive.
Father's hospitalization
Hassan Aiava, a strength and conditioning coach and exercise physiologist, was admitted to hospital in April with a fractured skull and taken into intensive care. Destanee shared a GoFundMe page with an update saying doctors had told the family every day that the best case scenario was a complete vegetative state or not waking up at all.
She said doctors had recommended removing his breathing tube to reduce his discomfort and moving him into supportive care to see how long he could fight before going into palliative care. She said the decision was not hers or her brother's to make since they are not considered first next of kin, but that she knew what her father would want. She thanked people for their messages and said proceeds from the GoFundMe would go toward his recovery or funeral.
