Tennis star Olivia Nicholls slams Aussie airline for ‘destroying’ racquets ahead of Hobart International

British tennis star Olivia Nicholls has slammed Jetstar for destroying her tennis racquets ahead of next week’s Hobart International.

Nicholls, who is a doubles specialist ranked No.39 in the world, had just competed in the United Cup in Sydney.

She is set to team up with Slovakian Tereza Mihalikova in Hobart, but her preparations have been thrown into disarray.

Nicholls said she was slugged a $160 check-in fee for her racquet bag, only to find them damaged or destroyed when she collected her luggage.

The 30-year-old posted a picture of the damaged goods.

“This is unacceptable Jetstar Airways. 160AUD to check in because I’m not allowed to take it as carry on, and you deliver my bag like this? How is this possible. My bag and rackets are totally destroyed,” she tweeted.

Jetstar have apologised to Nicholls and are working to replace the racquets.

“We’re really sorry for the damage to Olivia Nicholls racquets and for the inconvenience it has caused her,” a Jetstar spokesperson said in a statment to 7NEWS.

“Our teams are working to ensure that she receives replacement racquets today so that she can compete in her tournament this week.

“We have reached out to Ms Nicholls to apologise and offered to refund for costs incurred and provide compensation for the damage.”

Nicholls is coming off her best year on the tour.

She teamed up with Aussie Olivia Gadecki to win the ATX Open in March before reaching the third round at Wimbledon and the US Open with new partner Mihalikova.