Why 25-year-old rising tennis star QUIT the game in explosive outburst: ‘Tennis was my poisonous boyfriend’

Australian tennis player Destanee Aiava has declared 2026 will be her final year on tour, unleashing a furious broadside at the sport she says has left her feeling broken, bullied and disillusioned.

In a nine-slide Instagram post, the 25-year-old described tennis as her ‘toxic boyfriend’ before writing: ‘I want to say a ginormous f*** you to everyone in the tennis community who’s ever made me feel less than.’

‘2026 will be my final year on tour playing professional tennis,’ she began, reflecting on a journey that started with her first lesson at Casey Tennis Club and saw her become the first player born in the 2000s to compete in a Grand Slam.

‘There was a time in my career when I had reached the point that comes just before you make your big breakthrough.

‘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.’

Aiava said she kept playing out of obligation and fear. 

Destanee Aiava declares 2026 her final season, blasting tennis culture in a furious Instagram farewell post

The 25-year-old described tennis as her “toxic boyfriend” in an explosive nine-slide statement

Aiava said she felt broken, bullied and disillusioned by years on the professional circuit

‘Life is not meant to be lived in misery or half assed,’ she wrote. 

‘My ultimate goal is to be able to wake up everyday and genuinely say I love what I do.’

Her statement quickly turned incendiary.

‘F*** you to every single gambler who’s sent me hate or death threats,’ she fumed.

‘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.’

Aiava’s post has received plenty of high-powered support as well.

The former teenage prodigy claimed trusting the wrong people derailed her early breakthrough trajectory

Aiava admitted she continued playing out of obligation, fear and uncertainty about starting over

Aiava accused tennis of hiding racism, misogyny and elitism behind white outfits and tradition

Australian Jillaroos rugby league star Emma Tonegato posted: ‘Love this! Go queen’.

American tennis star Sloan Stephens posted three heart emojis.

And the post also received support from Aussie tennis stars Daria Saville, Storm Hunter, Jason Kubler and Maddy Inglis, Olympian Morgan Mitchell and influencer Costeen Hatzi.

The outburst follows months of public battles with trolls.

During Australian Open qualifying, Aiava exposed a commenter who told her to try ‘competitive eating’ and labelled her ‘big af’. 

She fired back: ‘Body shaming is not a f***ing opinion and neither is bullying… Karma is a b****.’

Her frustration with tennis culture also flared when she defended Naomi Osaka over criticism of her Australian Open outfits, accusing commentators of elitism and suggesting some believed ‘tennis [is] only for the white people.’

Aiava, who famously beat then world No.10 Aryna Sabalenka in 2019 and became a cult hero with her Melbourne Park breakthrough last year, admitted she feels ‘so far behind everyone else’ and ‘scared’ about starting again.

‘But that’s better than living a life that’s misaligned,’ she wrote.