Australian Open: Destanee Aiava, the unsponsored player who buys vintage outfits online
Destanee Aiava, ranked 195th in the world this week, made it through qualifying for the Australian Open and will face world No. 94 Greet Minnen in the first round.
In addition to this fine performance, the 24-year-old Aussie was particularly noted for wearing outfits worn by WTA Tour stars several years ago during qualifying.
In the 1st round, Aiava played in an outfit worn by Maria Sharapova at the 2012 US Open, when she was beaten in the semi-finals by Victoria Azarenka.
Then in the 2nd round, Destanee Aiava wore an outfit from the 2010 US Open, worn by Ana Ivanovic.
Asked by journalist Ben Rothenberg about these "vintage" outfits, the player, currently without a sponsor, explained that she bought them on a famous online sales platform:
"I found them on eBay, for double their retail price. But yes, I like to look on Depop, Facebook Marketplace, eBay, to find the vintage outfits I loved when I was little. I think I have six of them in my collection."
And ahead of her 1st round, Aiava revealed in a press conference that she had already found her new outfit:
"I found one yesterday on Facebook. For only 35 dollars, which is a bargain. Obviously, I'm hoping to get a sponsor. But for now, I love choosing what I'm going to wear and buying what I want."
