Australia’s Destanee Aiava slams “weird and hostile” United Cup team experience: a “2 out of 10”

Destanee Aiava, the 194^th-ranked singles player from Australia, had nothing but positives to say about the United Cup as a tennis tournament. Held in Sydney and Perth, the international team event helps kick off the season and is a dual-gender tune-up to the fast-approaching Australian Open. Each of the 18 participating countries brings a roster of six players Down Under with two guaranteed ties, each featuring a men’s singles match, a women’s singles match and a mixed doubles match.

As for the team aspect of the event—her team, specifically—Aiava wasn’t anywhere near as complimentary.

Captioning a January 2 vlog about the United Cup as, “my honest experience and review of the week I had,” Aiava slammed the togetherness of the Australian team, at one point calling her experience “weird and hostile.”

“So far I’ve had a good time at the event itself,” Aiava said, while Australia was still alive in the tournament. “Regarding our team, yeah, it’s not felt so welcoming.”

On multiple occasions in her video, the 24-year-old explained that she felt left out of the group, with the event feeling more like an individual tournament.

“I understand that we’re in a competitive environment, but I thought being in a team, playing a team event, it would feel a bit different,” Aiava said. “It’s not team-based at all, we pretty much just do whatever we want, by ourselves. And then, when everyone has to play, that’s when we all come together as a team.”

Aiava used finger quotes when saying the word “team.”

“I don’t want to say anything that will get me cancelled,” Aiava continued, “I probably will though.” At that point, the 28-minute video cut to another portion of Aiava’s reflections from her hotel room.

“There’s been like, at most, two people that I’ve actually properly conversed with on the team, maybe three,” Aiava said. Her teammates were Alex de Minaur, Matthew Ebden, Omar Jasika, Olivia Gadecki and Ellen Perez.

Regarding our team, yeah, it’s not felt so welcoming. Destanee Aiava

Amongst all Australian singles players, Aiava was the lowest-ranked on the team. Only her and Jasika, ranked 191^st at time of entry and 178^th now, did not play in a live match. Australia split a pair of 2-1 ties, losing to Argentina before defeating Great Britain. The host nation nearly reached the knockout stage as Sydney’s “best runner-up” after the British squad respectively clinched Group F via a tiebreaking procedure, but was edged out by the Czech Republic in highest percentage of games won.

Before the Great Britian match, Aiava lamented the fact that she wouldn’t be playing.

“I’m just going to go train again today,” Aiava said, “because that’s all I’m good for this week.”

Following Australia’s elimination but before her flight home, Aiava recorded one more video, and once again went in on the experience.

“This week wasn’t the best prep for AO,” she said. “In fact, it could have been the worst prep I’ve ever had, like match-wise. So it’s fair to say that I won’t be ever entering United Cup ever again, unless I’m the No. 1 player, because then I’ll be guaranteed a match—but I guess that’s my fault.”

Aiava gave the overall experience a “2 out of 10,” while giving credit to the tournament’s staff, organization and amenities. But it didn’t make up for the “pretty poor” team experience, especially in comparison to other countries.

“I would say everything else was good, besides the actual team camaraderie,” she said. “Would I recommend other people to play it? If you’re the No. 1 person on your team, go for it. If not, run for your life.”