“My account is in negative, -$35 to be exact,” Australian pro Destanee Aiava goes on a public rant over non-payment by ITF event as she talks of the financial challenges

ITF did not pay Destanee Aiava 2 weeks post tournament.

“My account is in negative, -$35 to be exact,” Australian pro Destanee Aiava goes on a public rant over non-payment by ITF event as she talks of the financial challenges

Destanee Aiava(Image via: Flickr)

Australian tennis professional Destanee Aiava recently revealed online that she barely had any money to survive. The 23-year-old, who has played in several tournaments and events hosted by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), disclosed that she was struggling as the organization failed to pay her for the ITF AUSTRALIA 10A Tournament “2 weeks ago“.

Aiava, who reached her career-high WTA rankings of 147 in singles seven years ago, went on a public rant on her social media handle on Meta’s Threads in a series of posts. The 23-year-old vented out her frustration as she let the fans know her deepest fears and how hard it is to survive when you have “no money“. “I also have a mortgage and bills to pay for, but I’m constantly paying for accommodation, flights, and tennis expenses LOL,” she wrote in a recent thread.

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The player stated that she was feeling “depleted” because she had no money. “It’s exhausting waking up everyday having to remember to take my medication…it’s not even a cure….I have no money and idk if I can afford to travel again next year for work,” she wrote. In another thread, the 23-year-old revealed that her account was “in the negatives(-$35 to be exact)” as she did not receive her payment from the tournament she last played in.

She further revealed that she will have to wait another week for her payment.” Times like these make me want a stable job…imagine being on the other side of the world working and you’re making NO MONEY,” she added. She urged others to stop telling her that she was living the dream life because “this is a literal nightmare”. High-ranked players, including Ons Jabeur and Novak Djokovic, recently spoke about the financial plight of lower-ranked players.

Ons Jabeur and Novak Djokovic stand with Destanee Aiava as they voice their concerns

Novak, Ons
Novak, Ons(Image via: FirstSportz)

World No. 7, Ons Jabeur, and US Open winner Novak Djokovic joined forces to talk about the limited financial means being provided to lower-ranked players, which include the likes of Australia’s Destanee Aiava. Jabeur recently stated, ” If you know me and you know my personality, I really like to help players. I truly love this sport. I believe the sport deserves much better. Like Novak said, we’re the third most watched sport in the world, and barely a few players can make a living out of this. It doesn’t add up.” 

The Tunisian became a member of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), founded by Novak Djokovic, who founded the association to take on the problems tennis players face on a regular basis. Several other tennis players have joined the cause to fulfill the needs that are being ignored by the tennis authorities.

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