"It wasn't worth it to wake up every day and hate my job"

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The news generated by Destanee Aiava a few days ago announcing her retirement from professional tennis at just 25 years old has had a significant impact. It won't be immediate, but at the end of the season. Her relationship with tennis was heading towards tragedy.

While it's painful to hear stories like that of Destanee Aiava, in some way they help us understand that not everything is rosy in professional sports. Many people suffer, do not enjoy competition, live with pain, until one day they open their eyes and realize that this path is no longer for them. The 25-year-old Australian is a clear example but has managed to stop in time and get off this high-speed train. In a recent interview with CLAY, we can hear her speaking candidly about all the negativity she had been carrying for some time, confirming once again that there is no possibility of changing her decision.

Destanee Aiava reveals the real reason for her retirement

“Honestly, I don't think I have ever enjoyed this sport. The only reason I enjoyed it was because of the good things that came with it. For me, personally, it's not worth waking up every day and hating my job, living a lie. Hundreds of people come up to me and say, ‘You must love it.’ Honestly, some days I would have preferred to do anything other than hitting a ball on a tennis court”.

Tennis as a partner, a toxic relationship

“The way I kept going back and forth in tennis, battling my own demons within this sport, wanting to quit and wanting to move forward, all of this felt like a relationship with its ups and downs. It felt like an equivalence to what I was experiencing, a toxic relationship with my work. I wasn’t very sure if anyone would relate to tennis in this way, I hope not.”

Tired of a circuit that offers no help

“Here everyone competes against everyone, especially in the women's circuit. I feel like we really don’t know how to set competition aside as men do. They play a match against each other and no matter what happens on the court, 10 minutes later they'll be in the locker room joking with each other. It doesn’t work that way for women, here everything is experienced with greater intensity.”

The worst memories on the court

“Through social media, I’ve received insults of all kinds, from ‘fat’ to ‘man’. Now I see how they are treating homosexual tennis players, and it saddens me, it's important to stand up for them too. I don’t want to talk so much about myself but about everyone who has ever received similar treatment to mine […] When I was young, I remember some crazy parents in tennis who weren’t too shy about expressing themselves, they used to call me ‘monkey-man’. In the locker room, the thing is nobody says things to your face, they always go behind your back, but then in person, they put on a fake smile.”

The decision is final, there's no turning back

“I don’t think anyone could have made me change my mind. My decision wasn’t based on everything I received every time I lost a match or all that outside noise; ultimately, these people always comment from a place of hate. However, that wasn’t why I made the decision. I felt unsatisfied with this sport; it has been a very lonely journey, too individual a sport, as well as very expensive. The only thing that made sense was to explore other things and find what truly makes me happy”.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, “No valía la pena despertarme cada día y odiar mi trabajo”