 2016 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Di Toro | |
| Full name | Lisa Daniela Di Toro |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  Australia |
| Residence | Melbourne, Victoria |
| Born | (1974-10-16)16 October 1974 (age 51) Melbourne, Victoria |
| Turned pro | 1988 |
| Plays | Right Handed |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 394–115 |
| Highest ranking | No.1 (14 July 1998) |
| Current ranking | 5 |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | F (2002, 2003, 2004, 2011) |
| French Open | SF (2010) |
| US Open | F (2010) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Masters | F (1995, 1996, 2010) |
| Paralympic Games |  Bronze Medal (2004) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 256–77 |
| Highest ranking | No.1 (20 May 1997) |
| Current ranking | 48 |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | F (2010) |
| French Open | W (2010) |
| Wimbledon | F (2009, 2010) |
| US Open | F (2009, 2010) |
| Other doubles tournaments | |
| Masters Doubles | W (2000) |
| Paralympic Games |  Silver Medal (2000) |
| World Team Cup |  Champion (1999) |
Medal record | |
| Last updated on: 29 January 2012. | |
Lisa Daniela "Danni" Di Toro (born 16 October 1974) is an Australianwheelchair tennis andpara table tennis player.[1][2] Di Toro was the 2010French 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 the2016 Rio Paralympics, where she was team captain withKurt Fearnley.[3] At the2020 Tokyo Paralympics, her seventh Paralympics, she was the team captain and Opening Ceremony flag bearer withRyley Batt. She competed at her eight Paralympics in Paris.
Daniela Di Toro was born on 16 October 1974 inMelbourne, Victoria. She became aparaplegic 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 metSandy Blythe, a member of theAustralian Rollers. He inspired her to continue to pursue sports. She lives in the Melbourne suburb ofThornbury[6] and she works as a youth worker in Melbourne. She graduated fromVictoria 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]
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.
Inwheelchair tennis, Di Toro is classified asParaplegic 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 theVictorian Institute of Sport.[8] As a professional tennis player, Di Toro has won more than three hundred matches. She is coached byGreg Crump.[6] She trains at the Tennis Centre and Nunawading.[8] Her club tennis is withWheelchair 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 wereLucy Shuker of Great Britain andAniek 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]
Di Toro has competed as wheelchair tennis player in 4 consecutive Paralympic Games:Atlanta 1996,Sydney 2000,Athens 2004 andBeijing 2008.[4] She won a silver medal at the2000 Sydney Games in the Women's Doubles event,[12] withBranka 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 won the Kobe Open in 2003 in the women's singles event.[8]
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.
In January 2007, Di Toro came out of retirement to compete in theAustralian 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 partnerLucy Shuker. She made her first finals appearance after retirement at Wimbledon in 2009. She would go on to make 6 straight finals including winning the2010 French Open, beatingEsther Vergeer andSharon Walraven. She also made two finals appearances in singles, at the2010 US Open and2011 Australian Open. In 2010, she made the finals of the Wheelchair Tennis Masters in singles.
She is aClass 4 table tennis player. In April 2015, Toro dominated in the C3-5 competition at theInternational 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 the2016 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 the2020 Tokyo Paralympics, she lost both matches in theWomen's Singles Class 4 and failed to advance.[16]
Di Toro competed at the2022 Commonwealth Games in theWomen's singles C3-5 but did not progress past the group stage. She competed at the2024 Paris Paralympics in the Women's Singles 4 and Women's Doubles 10 but did not progress after losing opening matches.
In 1999, Di Toro was named the Australian Paralympian of the Year.[4] In 2000, she received anAustralian Sports Medal,[17] and in 2001, she was named theYoung Victorian of the Year.[18] In 2010, she was nominated as the Most Outstanding athlete with a disability byTennis Australia.[9] She was appointed team captain withKurt Fearnley for theAustralian Team at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.[19] In November 2019, Batt withDaniela di Toro was named co-captain of theAustralian Team at the2020 Tokyo Paralympics.[20] On 23 August 2021, di Toro and Batt were announced as the flagbearers for the Australian team for theTokyo 2020 Paralympics opening ceremony.[21] In 2022, she was awardedParalympics Australia President’s Award.[22]
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
**To prevent confusion, this table only includes the events which took place from 2002 onwards at the Grand Slam venues.
| 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 | |||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||
NAME: Lisa Daniela Di Toro / NICKNAME: Danni
Flag bearers Lisa Daniela Di Toro and Ryley Batt of Team Australia
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | YoungVictorian of the Year 2001 | Succeeded by |
