Daniela Di Toro

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Daniela Di Toro
2016 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Di Toro
Full nameLisa Daniela Di Toro
Country (sports) Australia
ResidenceMelbourne, Victoria
Born (1974-10-16) 16 October 1974 (age 50)
Melbourne, Victoria
Turned pro1988
PlaysRight Handed
Singles
Career record394–115
Highest rankingNo. 1 (14 July 1998)
Current ranking5
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenF (2002, 2003, 2004, 2011)
French OpenSF (2010)
US OpenF (2010)
Other tournaments
MastersF (1995, 1996, 2010)
Paralympic Games Bronze Medal (2004)
Doubles
Career record256–77
Highest rankingNo. 1 (20 May 1997)
Current ranking48
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenF (2010)
French OpenW (2010)
WimbledonF (2009, 2010)
US OpenF (2009, 2010)
Other doubles tournaments
Masters DoublesW (2000)
Paralympic Games Silver Medal (2000)
World Team Cup Champion (1999)
Medal record
Representing  Australia
Women's wheelchair tennis
Paralympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2000 Sydney Women's Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Athens Women's Singles
Last updated on: 29 January 2012.

Lisa Daniela "Danni" Di Toro (born 16 October 1974) is an Australian wheelchair tennis and para table tennis player.[1][2] Di Toro was the 2010 French Open doubles champion and has also been the Masters double champion. In singles, Di Toro is the former world number one and two time masters finalist. In 2015, she moved to para-table tennis and represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, where she was team captain with Kurt Fearnley.[3] At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, her seventh Paralympics, she was the team captain and Opening Ceremony flag bearer with Ryley Batt. She competed at her eight Paralympics in Paris.

Personal life

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Daniela Di Toro was born on 16 October 1974 in Melbourne, Victoria. She became a paraplegic in 1988 in an accident while competing at a school swimming carnival, when a wall fell on her.[4][5] While in hospital, following her accident, Di Toro met Sandy Blythe, a member of the Australian Rollers. He inspired her to continue to pursue sports. She lives in the Melbourne suburb of Thornbury[6] and she works as a youth worker in Melbourne. She graduated from Victoria University with a Bachelor of Chinese Medicine (Acupuncture and Herbs) in 2009.[5]

In 2017, she was appointed Paralympics Australia's Athlete Engagement and Wellbeing Officer, and Vice Chairperson of the Athlete Commission.[7]

Wheelchair tennis

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In the past I've always been so caught up in my own competition, I've missed out on seeing my friends compete and getting a sense of what people must feel when they're at a Paralympic Games. It's extraordinary.

Daniela Di Toro[4]

In wheelchair tennis, Di Toro is classified as Paraplegic T12/L1. She first started playing tennis when she was nine. She started playing wheelchair tennis in 1988, and started representing Australia in 1989, winning the Australian Open in 1991 – it would be her first of ten Australian Open titles. Internationally, she has been ranked as high as number one.[4] She was once a scholarship holder at the Victorian Institute of Sport.[8] As a professional tennis player, Di Toro has won more than three hundred matches. She is coached by Greg Crump.[6] She trains at the Tennis Centre and Nunawading.[8] Her club tennis is with Wheelchair Sport Victoria.[8]

At the end of the 2010 season, Di Toro was ranked second in the world. During the 2010 season, she reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, semifinals of the French Open and finals of the US Open. In 2010, she won the Japan Open and the Korean Open.[9] In 2010, Di Toro competed in the women's double tennis events at the four major tennis events. Her partners were Lucy Shuker of Great Britain and Aniek Van Koot of Holland.[10] Di Toro was injured in 2011, and had to pull out of the French and Korean Opens because her neck was inflamed. The injury happened while she was competing at the Japanese Open and was a herniated disc.[11]

Paralympics

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Di Toro has competed as wheelchair tennis player in 4 consecutive Paralympic Games: Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.[4] She won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Games in the Women's Doubles event,[12] with Branka Pupovac as her partner. She won a bronze medal at the 2004 Games in the Women's singles event. She competed at the 2008 Paralympics, and was the only female wheelchair tennis player on the Australian team.[4]

Di Toro playing at the 2012 London Paralympics

Kobe Open

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Di Toro won the Kobe Open in 2003 in the women's singles event.[8]

Retirement

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In 2005, Di Toro retired from competitive tennis in order to spend more time studying Chinese medicine. She would end her career with 2 US Open titles, the 2000 Wheelchair Tennis Masters Doubles title, and a silver and bronze Paralympic medal. Following her 2005 retirement, she continued to be active in the wheelchair tennis community by coaching young tennis players.

Return from retirement

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In January 2007, Di Toro came out of retirement to compete in the Australian Open's Wheelchair Tennis Super Series event where she lost in the first round. She would have more success in doubles, where she made the semi-finals with partner Lucy Shuker. She made her first finals appearance after retirement at Wimbledon in 2009. She would go on to make 6 straight finals including winning the 2010 French Open, beating Esther Vergeer and Sharon Walraven. She also made two finals appearances in singles, at the 2010 US Open and 2011 Australian Open. In 2010, she made the finals of the Wheelchair Tennis Masters in singles.

Table Tennis

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She is a Class 4 table tennis player. In April 2015, Toro dominated in the C3-5 competition at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Oceania Para-Table Tennis Championships. This was her first international para-table tennis competition after her move from wheelchair tennis.[13]

At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, she lost both matches in the Women's Singles Class 4 and failed to advance.[14] At the 2019 Oceania Para Table Tennis Championships, Darwin, she won the gold medal in the Women's Class 2–5.[15]

At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, she lost both matches in the Women's Singles Class 4 and failed to advance.[16]

Di Toro competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the Women's singles C3-5 but did not progress past the group stage. She competed at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in the Women's Singles 4 and Women's Doubles 10 but did not progress after losing opening matches.

Recognition

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Team co-captains Daniela di Toro and Ryley Batt at the announcement that they would jointly carry the Australian flag in the opening ceremony at the Tokyo Paralympics
Team co-captains Daniela di Toro and Ryley Batt at the announcement that they would jointly carry the Australian flag in the opening ceremony at the Tokyo Paralympics

In 1999, Di Toro was named the Australian Paralympian of the Year.[4] In 2000, she received an Australian Sports Medal,[17] and in 2001, she was named the Young Victorian of the Year.[18] In 2010, she was nominated as the Most Outstanding athlete with a disability by Tennis Australia.[9] She was appointed team captain with Kurt Fearnley for the Australian Team at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.[19] In November 2019, Batt with Daniela di Toro was named co-captain of the Australian Team at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.[20] On 23 August 2021, di Toro and Batt were announced as the flagbearers for the Australian team for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics opening ceremony.[21] In 2022, she was awarded Paralympics Australia President’s Award. [22]

Performance timelines

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.


**To prevent confusion, this table only includes the events which took place from 2002 onwards at the Grand Slam venues.

Wheelchair singles

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Tournament 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open Not held F[23] F[24] F[25] Absent 1R[26] 1R[27] SF[28] QF F QF
French Open Not held Absent SF A
US Open Not held Absent NH QF F QF
Year-end championship
Wheelchair Tennis Masters F[29] SF[30] A SF[31] RR Absent SF F RR
National representation
Paralympics SF Not held QF Not held SF-B Not held 1R Not held

Wheelchair doubles

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Tournament 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open Not held SF[25] Absent QF[32] SF[27] SF[28] F SF SF
French Open Not held Absent W A
Wimbledon Not held F F A
US Open Not held Absent NH F F QF
Year-end championship
Wheelchair Tennis Masters Not held W[33] Absent RR Absent
National representation
Paralympics SF Not held F-S Not held ? Not held A Not held

References

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  1. ^ "ATHLETE PROFILE (PARA)" (PDF). Table Tennis Australia. Retrieved 16 February 2024. NAME: Lisa Daniela Di Toro / NICKNAME: Danni
  2. ^ "Confused, angry': Massive problem with Nine's $305m Olympics deal". news.com.au. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024. Flag bearers Lisa Daniela Di Toro and Ryley Batt of Team Australia
  3. ^ "2016 Paralympic co-captain leads the way for 5-strong Para-table tennis team". Australian Paralympic Committee News. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Daniela Di Toro". Australian Paralympic Committee. 2011. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  5. ^ a b "Toro, Daniela". The Australian Women's Register. 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Daniela Di Toro". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Danni Di Toro". Paralympics Australia. 31 August 2015. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d "Daniela Di Toro". Victorian Institute of Sport. 2010. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  9. ^ a b "Di Toro caps off successful season". Tennis Australia. 25 November 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  10. ^ "Australian Tennis Awards winners announced". Tennis Australia. 4 December 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  11. ^ "Di Toro suffers injury". Tennis Australia. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  12. ^ "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  13. ^ "Australia claims all four titles at ITTF Oceania Para-table tennis championships". Australian Paralympic Committee News, 15 April 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ "Lisa Daniela di Toro". Rio 2016 Paralympics. Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  15. ^ Gillen, Nancy (7 May 2019). "Australia dominate home Oceania Para Table Tennis Championships". Inside The Games. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  16. ^ "di TORO, Lisa Daniela". Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Di Toro, Daniela: Australian Sports Medal". It's an Honour. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  18. ^ "Victoria Day Awards". Victoria Day Council. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  19. ^ "Fearnley and Di Toro to captain 2016 team". Australian Paralympic Committee News. 4 February 2016. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  20. ^ "Di Toro and Batt to captain 2020 Australian Paralympic Team". Paralympics Australia. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.[dead link]
  21. ^ "Two Of Australia's Greatest Paralympians Bestowed Flagbearer Honour". Paralympics Australia. 23 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  22. ^ "De Rozario And Tudhope Earn Top Honours at Paralympics Australia Awards". Paralympics Australia. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  23. ^ "2002 Australian Open". ITF. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  24. ^ "2003 Australian Open". ITF. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  25. ^ a b "2004 Australian Open". ITF. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  26. ^ "2007 Australian Open". ITF. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  27. ^ a b "2008 Australian Open". ITF. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  28. ^ a b "2009 Australian Open". ITF. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  29. ^ "1996 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters". ITF. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  30. ^ "1997 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters 1999". ITF. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  31. ^ "1999 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters 1999". ITF. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  32. ^ "2007 Australian Open". ITF. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  33. ^ "1999 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters 2000". ITF. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Young Victorian of the Year
2001 		Succeeded by
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