By Justin Schwarze
Narre Warren star Destanee Aiava experienced the highlight of her burgeoning tennis career on Monday night by winning her first grand slam match at the Australian Open.
She came from behind to beat Belgian Greet Minnen, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6.
After losing the first set, Aiava quickly fell behind 2-5 in the second, and it seemed she was on the verge of another first round exit.
She managed to claw her way back into the contest, digging deep to secure five consecutive games and thus sent the match to a deciding third set.
The third set was closely-contested, but Aiava ultimately took the tiebreaker 10-5 to secure her place in the second round, where a matchup with world number 10 Danielle Collins awaits.
“I’m just super happy to get through and finally win a first round of singles in a grand slam, especially at my home slam,” Aiava said.
Her status as a teenage prodigy at Narre Warren has been well-documented, including a 2012 interview with Star News where she stated she wanted to be “world number one.”
Aiava’s rise to the Australian Open was meteoric, as the 24 year old has had multiple achievements along the way.
2017 was a big year for her, as she was selected to represent Australia in the Junior Fed Cup side for the first time.
She also became the first person born 2000 or later to win a main-draw Women’s Tennis Association match.
She reached her career high ranking of world number 147 in the same year.
2025 was Aiava’s fifth appearance in the main draw of the Australian Open, after she featured in the first round of the US Open last year.
Aiava is currently ranked as world number 195.
