Fashion
The qualifier using the Australian Open as ‘fashion runway’
“Look good, feel good.”
It’s a mantra that has rung true for Destanee Aiava in Australian Open qualifying this week.
Aiava has been using the courts in Melbourne as her “fashion runway”, wearing vintage dresses made famous by Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic.
The 24-year-old Australian has been buying replicas of the outfits once worn by the two former Grand Slam champions online.
And on Thursday, while sporting the same pink Adidas dress Ivanovic wore at the 2010 US Open, Aiava won her final qualifying match.
Her 6-1 2-6 6-4 win over 23rd seed Eva Lys means she will play in the main draw of her home major for the first time since 2021.
Asked whether she had picked an outfit for her first-round match, Aiava said: “I found one on Facebook yesterday before my match. I might go pick that up. It’s only $35, which is a steal.”
Earlier in qualifying, the world number 195 wore the same light pink Nike dress that Sharapova wore when she reached the US Open semi-finals in 2012.