After watching the whole week of the Australian Open wildcard Playoff, it was obvious that Destanee Aiava was head and shoulders above the rest of the field and is the best of Australia’s young, promising talent going into the 2018 Australian Open.
The 17-year-old booked her place into the Australian Open main draw with a comfortable 6-4, 6-0 victory over Tammi Patterson and the way she brushed aside her competition in the semi-final and final suggests that she is a name to take note of in the upcoming Grand Slam.
Aiava made her first appearance at a Major at the 2017 Australian Open, but lost in her opening round. Hwever, she has made serious strides and developed at a fantastic pace. We totally expect to see the unforgiving power from the baseline and the aggressive groundstrokes from both sides, but she is a much more complete player compared to twelve months ago.
We know Aiava prefers to attack than to defend, but we also have seen that she can rely on an improved defensive style of play when she needs to, which she definitely could not do at the beginning of the year. The ability to throw in the high ball, the slice, and the difference in pace will set her up for the remainder of her career. The top players do not only learn to hit the ball as hard as possible, but they find a way to win with not only different tactics going into a match, but also to have a combination of plans to work your way out of trouble while you are all alone on the court, with your back up against the wall. Aiava’s enthusiasm to gain those invaluable tools, to make herself that better player, can really set her up for what is to come.
Just a week ago, Aiava lost the Under 18’s final to Jaimee Fourlis, which resulted in Fourlis gaining entry to the Australian Open main draw at the expense of Aiava, but that wouldn’t stop Aiava from pulling out similar breathtaking performances the following week to rightfully grab hold of the Wild Card at the second chance. There was no real sign of feeling sorry for herself, no indication that she was not ready or set for a long and challenging week at Melbourne Park and that shows the mettle of a potentially top player in the future.
Aiava is currently just outside the Top 150 in the world at #154, and you have to think that that ranking will rise considerably in the next 6-12 months. She is hanging around with Australia’s top tier players at the Fed Cup meets, playing multiple Grand Slam main draws and gaining experience at such a young age and it would not surprise me to see the young Australian win a couple of rounds at the dubbed ‘Happy Slam’ of tennis.
How good can this 17-year-old be? Things can change in tennis. I would say that this is one of the most important phases of her career. The decisions she makes and the adjustments that her coaches make to her game and to her mindset can play a huge part and are a big factor in the steps she is set to take in her tennis career. We have seen in the past that those decisions make or break a tennis career, so it is important that Aiava is given a fair chance of getting the most out of her career if that is what she wants.
It is also important to add that players do not necessarily make the huge breakthroughs at a very early age anymore—not like they used to, so I think it is also crucial that Aiava makes steady and gradual progress rather than demanding her to make those huge steps immediately. Often we see in sport that athletes aren’t given the necessary time to evolve and be that great player and I think the key for Aaiva in the next two years is to see progression. That is the key.
Aiava has talked about not having definitive ranking goals for 2018, but she did add that getting Top 100 by the middle of the season would be seen as a great accomplishment for her. For casual tennis fans, that may seem like not much of a big deal, but it is. There are just four teenagers that sit inside the World’s Top 100, Ana Konjuh, CiCi Bellis, Aryna Sabalenka and Marketa Vondrousova, so it is very rare for a teenager to be among those Top 100 players. Aiava potentially making the Top 100 would be great at just 17, but it is also realistic and possible for someone with her talent.
Australian tennis fans really do have a valid reason to be excited about Aiava, but keeping her feet firmly on the ground before a big month of Australian tennis is absolutely pivotal in order to get the best out of this bright star of the future.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
