Putting a deadline on her career, Destanee Aiava is unlikely to ditch tennis anytime soon after breaking a four-year Australian Open main-draw drought.
Aiava won a berth in the Open with a gutsy victory in the final round of qualifying on Thursday against German Eva Lys, winning 6-1 2-6 6-4.
She was later joined by Australia's top-ranked female Kimberly Birrell, who survived a marathon encounter against Oksana Selekhmeteva to win 6-3 6-7 (7-4) 6-4.
Fellow Australian Maddison Inglis suffered heartbreak for the second straight year with another loss in the final round, falling to Argentina's Julia Riera 6-4 1-6 2-6.
German men's top seed Dominik Koepfer broke Australian Blake Ellis late in both sets to cruel his run 7-5 7-5, while Brisbane International women's runner-up Polina Kudermetova beat Australian Elena Micic 6-4 7-5.
It's the second successive grand slam that 24-year-old Aiava has qualified for, also winning through at the US Open, where she lost to fourth seed Elena Rybakina in the first round.
"It feels amazing, it's been a couple of years since I was playing in the AO main, and to qualify as well feels even better," Aiava said.
"I took experience and confidence from qualifying at the US Open and used it here, and I think my game's only improved in the last year as well."
Once the world's top-ranked 14-year-old, Aiava is looking to finally deliver on her huge teen promise after a challenging decade that saw her battle mental-health issues before being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.
Currently ranked No.165 in the world, Aiava has played in the Open four times since 2017, but never advanced past the first round.
She said she felt she had matured and now brought the right mentality to her game.
"I think it's more so my mentality," Aiava said of her recent improvement.
"It's only me getting out of my own way and actually not shying away from wanting to succeed in this sport.
"I know I've always had the talent and the hard work and all the other stuff, it's just my brain."
Aiava said she planned to quit tennis and sign up for a degree in fashion design if she wasn't happy with how 2025 panned out.
"I told myself if I wasn't happy with my year this year then I'm going to get a degree,'' she said.
"I want to obviously get inside the top 100 by the end of the year, but I think me qualifying for this one as well, even if I don't reach my ranking goal, it just shows me that I still have it in me.
"I can do whatever I want if I really want it, and if I work hard enough for it, it can happen."
Aiava has captured attention through qualifying wearing vintage dresses she bought online, paying tribute to some iconic looks made famous by Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova.
The Australian said she had needed to go and pick up her latest purchase now that she had another match - in the main draw - to play.
"I found one on Facebook yesterday before my match so I might go pick that up - it's only $35, which is a steal,'' Aiava said.
"I've struggled with clothing sponsorships for the last couple of years.
"I love my fashion and I've always loved the older dresses that don't get worn anymore.
"I didn't really think it would make any impact at all, me wearing the dresses, but I'm glad I did, it's been fun bringing them back."
