 Action shot of Pupovac during a match at the 2000 Summer Paralympics | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Nationality |  Australia | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 March 1972 (age 52) Wollongong, New South Wales | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Branka Pupovac (born 3 March 1972) is a Paralympic wheelchair tennis competitor from Australia.
Pupovac was born on 3 March 1972 in Wollongong, New South Wales. [1] She is from Sydney, New South Wales and attended the University of Wollongong where she earned a Bachelor of Commerce. In 2000, she was studying to become a counsellor. [2] Pupovac is an incomplete paraplegic, as a result of an accident while riding on the back of a friend's motorcycle when she was twenty. Her friend crossed a set of double lines in an effort to overtake a car. She was wearing a helmet at the time, but still had significant damage done to her neck and spinal cord. [2]
Pupovac, alongside Karni Liddell, Hamish MacDonald and Charmaine Dalli, was one of eighteen Australian Paralympians photographed by Emma Hack for a nude calendar. [3] The photograph of her in the calendar features her topless and covered in brown and gold body paint. [3]
Pupovac first competed internationally in wheelchair tennis in 1996. [1] In 1996, she was chosen as a member of the Australian Paralympic's Wheelchair tennis Development Squad. [2] She was later chosen to be a member of Australia's World Team Cup. [2] At the 1997 U.S. Open of Wheelchair Tennis, Branka was swept in straight sets by Chantal Vandierendonck during the first round. Vandierendonck beat her 6–2, and 6–1. [4] In 1998, she was ranked 14th in the world for women's singles and doubles tennis. [2] While preparing for the 2000 Summer Paralympics, she would train up to six days a week. [2] In 1998, she made the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. [1] The same year, at the US Open, she won the consolation draw. [1] In 1998, she also made the finals of the British Open consolation draw. [1] In August 1999, she had her highest single's international ranking when she was ranked ninth in the world. [1] In 2000, her competitive sport participation was sponsored by the Motor Accidents Authority in New South Wales. [5] In 2000, she finished second at the Australian Open and French Open in the consolidation draw. [1] She was a 1998 and 2000 Motor Accidents Authority Paralympian. [6] She won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Games in the Women's Doubles event, [7] with Daniela Di Toro as her partner. [8] In October 2000, she had her highest doubles international ranking when she was ranked 12th. [1] She competed in her final international competition in 2004, at the World Team Cup in New Zealand. [1]
Esther Mary Vergeer is a Dutch former professional wheelchair tennis player. Vergeer won 43 major titles, 23 year-end championships, and seven Paralympic gold medals. She was the world No. 1 in women's wheelchair singles from 1999 to her retirement in February 2013. Vergeer went undefeated in singles for ten straight years, ending her career on a winning streak of 470 matches. She has often been named the most dominant player in professional sports.
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