Not your average Joe – Aiava reaches the hot seat with $200,000 in her pocket

Destanee Aiava likes being in the second round of the Australian Open. She no longer needs to sell her house to stay on tour. What doesn’t she like on social media? ‘It’s just the Average Joes being shit to people.’

Australia’s Destanee Aiava defeated Greet Minnen in three sets at Melbourne Park. Picture: Michael Klein

Ash Barty had a blacklist. Players she wasn’t especially fond of. Those she enjoyed quietly annihilating in matches. She kept the list to herself but mentioned it in her book. No names were revealed, which made sportswriters like this one speculate about the suspects. I reckon Danielle Collins might’ve featured. Could be completely wrong there.

I enjoy watching Collins. If you’re going to be a super-aggressive, super-strutting, super-powerful, super-loud, super-combative, super-cantankerous, super-moody, super-uppity American baseliner, one may as well be a good one. Collins gave Barty a run for her money in the 2022 Australian Open final, the prop in the play, the extra at the Barty party, and on Thursday at Melbourne Park she faces my favourite player of the Open to date: hometown girl Destanee Aiava.

Aiava has a blacklist, too. There’s only one name on it but the name represents hundreds of gloom-mongers. His name is Average Joe. Now, not every Average Joe is worthy of blacklisting because not every Average Joe is a misery guts. Optimistic, wonderful, cheerful, encouraging, supportive Average Joes are out there. The Average Joes earning Aiava’s ire are the Average Joes wallowing in nastiness and malice on social media.

The clock was approaching midnight on Monday when Aiava recovered from a set and 2-5 to send a packed Court 3 into raptures by beating Belgium’s Greet Minnen 5-7 7-5 7-6 (10/5) for her first triumph at a major. We know Aiava’s rollercoaster backstory by now. If not, Google it before she takes an underdog’s swing at the world No. 11. In a nutshell, Aiava was one of the best juniors on the planet. If this was a Seinfeld episode we’d say yada, yada, yada, a decade later she’s trying to make up for lost time while getting a grip on the increasing spotlight being thrust her way.

Aiava. Picture: AFP

“At the moment I’m dealing with it okay,” the 24-year-old Melburnian said. “I try to stay off my phone as much as possible and not look into the negative stuff on the media too much.

“I think I’m used to it now because I had so much when I was little. I’m older now, I can deal with it a lot better. I have the people around me to keep me in check. If they see me on my phone too much, they’ll just take it away. Yeah, I think I’ve been handling it okay.”

Negative stuff in the media? Like, newspapers? Haven’t you read our fawning?: “I feel like the only negative things I see is from other people commenting,” she says. “It’s not so much the articles that are bad. Maybe some titles are a bit of clickbait but I understand that. That’s just to get people reading them. I don’t think there’s much the media can do better. It’s their job. It’s just the Average Joes being shit to people.”

And there’s one of the great complications of this world. The number of Average Joes who are shit to people. “Everyone who came to watch and was screaming and supporting, I feel like they’re less inclined to maybe give a bad comment,” Aiava said after beating Minnen. “I mean, they wouldn’t have sat there the whole time and watched if they didn’t feel positively towards either player. I feel like it’s just the people that sit behind their phones and have nothing better to do that are sad and unhappy with their lives. I try not to look into it too much – but I do like telling them off.”

Aiava shapes for a backhand return against Greet Minnen. Picture: David Caird

Aiava was so broke 18 months ago that she considered selling her house to keep scouring the world for minor tournaments that could get her ranking up. She’s guaranteed $200,000 for reaching the second round here. Knock over Collins and the pot rises to $290,000, increasing round-by round like an episode of Millionaire Hot Seat, climaxing with the winner, winner getting a chicken dinner and $3.5 million.

Aiava, the daughter of former Wallaroo Rosie Aiava, is the world No. 147. Her payday is career-changing. “It means I can bring someone to travel with me this year,” she says. “And I can afford to actually go to all the tournaments that I want to. It really helps. Financially, tennis is so expensive. I struggle travelling on my own. The fact I get to bring my fiance with me now and hopefully one of my family members to the big ones, it makes a world of a difference.”

USA's Danielle Collins. Picture: AFP

Expectation used to get to her. Now? “I enjoy it,” she says. “I used to feel a lot of pressure but now I feel, maybe it’s because I’m older and I’ve dealt with these kinds of situations a lot more. I’m able to handle it and know that there are kids that I’m inspiring. I’m going to enjoy the match. I’ve not played (Collins) before but I’ve enjoyed watching her. Second round of a grand slam and it’s my first time … I’m just going to enjoy the experience and do my best.”

Enjoyment, enjoyment, enjoyment. Aiava used to chase a ranking that would provide it. Now she’s pursuing enjoyment first, her ranking is coming good. “I think I had to really step back and appreciate things that tennis has given me and not look at it as something so negative,” she says.

“It’s really hard because you’re losing so many times in tennis, more than you win, and I can get into a really negative head space. I’m just looking back each week, feeling a lot of gratitude for everything. I mean, I’m here playing my favourite grand slam in the second round. Just thinking of all the positives. I can only be thankful and grateful that I get to do this as a job. I’m not turning up to do something that I hate. Even though I do hate it sometimes.”