Destanee Aiava: I’m probably the biggest competitor I know

20 year old Australian Destanee Aiava says she missed competing on the professional circuit in recent months and is looking forward to competing on the tour once again. The tennis circuit has been shut down since March due to the current pandemic and the first WTA event was held in Palermo last week. There is a WTA event in Prague this week as well as in Lexington and two major events, including the US Open, are planned in New York later this month.

Destanee Aiava says she is the biggest competitor she knows

Speaking to tennis.com.au, Aiava, who is ranked No. 199 in the world in singles, says, “I’m probably the biggest competitor I know. I’m very competitive. I missed competing. Training is completely different. You kind of get bored of it and you don’t really have a purpose for competing during training.”

While she did enjoy her time off at home, Aiava says she has a new-found appreciation for being able to compete and for being healthy.  “I did take it a little bit for granted, especially being able to play so many tournaments during the year. I didn’t realise how important it was for me to just compete consistently because this is our livelihood. We do not earn much money outside playing tournaments. I just found a newfound appreciation for being able to compete and being healthy.”

The 20 year old Aiava played the UTR Pro Tennis Series in Australia and won titles in Melbourne and Sydney there, showing that she will be one of the players to watch out for when she returns to compete on the international circuit. She adds that she has been working hard during the time-off and her wins at the UTR Pro Tennis Series event was due to the hard work she had put in during the past few months.

Destanee Aiava has a career-high ranking of No. 147 in the world in singles. She has won 4 ITF singles titles so far in her career.  She made her Grand Slam main draw debut at the 2017 Australian Open by winning the under-18 Australian Championships in 2016 which entitled her to a wild card in the main draw. As a result, she became the first player, male or female, born in 2000 or later to participate in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament at that time.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2F4Lzc6