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At the 2025 Australian Open, Destanee Aiava is turning heads not just with her skills, but her style too! The Samoan-Australian has been under the spotlight since her first-round win against the Belgian Greet Minnen. She entered the Major after registering three successive wins in the qualifiers. With a fourth straight victory, on Monday, the World No.165 has sent a clear signal to her rivals. She’s here to perform and win. But she’s also attracting attention with her stunning outfits. It didn’t take long for tennis enthusiasts to notice that the 24-year-old is a big fan of former legends Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, and Caroline Wozniacki. Her unique tribute to them has made it quite evident.

If it’s not clear already, let’s roll back the time to over a week ago. During the Australian Open qualifying phase, Aiava was seen sporting a replica of five-time Major winner Maria Sharapova‘s iconic light pink dress. The former World No.1 wore it when she entered the 2012 US Open SF round. Aiava wore its replica outfit in the match against Hungary’s Panna Udvardy on January 8. Then in the next fixture, dated January 9, she flaunted the style sense of former Serbian tennis star Ana Ivanovic. In the match against Germany’s Iva Lys, she appeared in the same pink outfit that Ivanovic wore in 2010’s US Open. But her homage to WTA stars didn’t end there.

Playing in her first round of the 2025 Australian Open, dated January 13, Aiava sported the sky blue dress inspired by former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki. The latter had appeared in the same outfit during the 2013 US Open. But how did the 24-year-old manage to unearth all these outfits’ replicas and pay homage to her idols? Well, the simple answer is online shopping!

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“I found one on Facebook yesterday before my match. I might go pick that up. It’s only $35, which is a steal.” she said, during the qualifying phase, in an interaction with BBC, dated January 9. “I just loved what they wore,” she revealed while admiring Sharapova, Ivanovic, and even Serena Williams. She’s a big fan of the 23-time Major winner. When asked whether she’s tried a Serena-inspired dress yet, she said, “I don’t think I’ve wore a Serena fit yet.” But why? “They are quite hard to find and quite expensive,” she revealed in an Instagram clip from Channel 9 on Thursday. “I am just excited to see what call I get for tomorrow and hopefully it will have the same tonality as well.”

 

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While her fashion sense seems to be on point, it’s now time to up her performance in the second round. But who’s her opponent?

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Destanee Aiava goes against World No.10 Danielle Collins in the second round of the 2025 Australian Open

What’s your perspective on:

Can Destanee Aiava's fashion flair translate into a stunning upset against Danielle Collins?

Have an interesting take?

Danielle Collins is coming off a huge victory in her first round on Monday. She beat Ukraine’s Daria Snigur 7-6(4), 6-3 to advance in her campaign. Speaking of her last season, she won successive titles at the Miami Open and at Charleston. Even at the events like Italian Open and the Internationaux de Strasbourg, she managed to reach the SF round and the final respectively. After that, however, the remaining half of the year didn’t go well for her.

In Wimbledon, she was eliminated at an early stage. At the Paris Olympics, she was ousted in the QF round against former World No.1 Iga Swiatek. At the US Open, Danimal failed to make it past the first round. Even her 2025 season didn’t begin on a positive note. Appearing in the Adelaide International, she lost against Ons Jabeur in the Round of 32. Coming into the Australian Open amid a losing streak wasn’t easy. But it seems she’s turned the tides in her favor after clinching the first round against Snigur earlier this week.

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On the other hand, Collins’ opponent Destanee Aiava earned three back-to-back wins in the Australian Open qualifiers last week. Before that, her 2024 season went well as well. After making long runs in most of the tournaments, she succeeded in winning the titles at the ITF Australia 11A and the ITF Australia 14 A. Both the victories came in the second half of her past season. Heading into the first round of the first Major of 2025, she looked in great touch against Belgium’s Greet Minnen. Aiava edged her out with a scoreline of 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(5).

When it comes to the h2h tally between Collins and Aiava, it’s nothing there yet. They haven’t met each other yet in a professional match, which means there will be a sense of intrigue among the fans. They will be curious to know who will emerge as the ultimate winner in Thursday’s second-round encounter. What’s your prediction for the match? Is an upset on the cards? Let us know in the comments below.

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Can Destanee Aiava's fashion flair translate into a stunning upset against Danielle Collins?