Branka Pupovac
![]() Action shot of Pupovac during a match at the 2000 Summer Paralympics | |||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nationality | ![]() | ||||||||||||||
Born | 3 March 1972 (1972-03-03) (age 52) Wollongong, New South Wales | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Branka Pupovac (born 3 March 1972) is a Paralympic wheelchair tennis competitor from Australia.
Personal
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]
Tennis
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/201000_-_Opening_Ceremony_wheelchair_tennis_player_Branka_Pupovac_parades_-_3b_-_2000_Sydney_opening_ceremony_photo.jpg/220px-201000_-_Opening_Ceremony_wheelchair_tennis_player_Branka_Pupovac_parades_-_3b_-_2000_Sydney_opening_ceremony_photo.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/141100_-_Wheelchair_tennis_Daniela_Di_Toro_Branka_Pupovac_gold_medals_-_3b_-_2000_Sydney_medal_photo.jpg/220px-141100_-_Wheelchair_tennis_Daniela_Di_Toro_Branka_Pupovac_gold_medals_-_3b_-_2000_Sydney_medal_photo.jpg)
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]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Branka Pupovac". Melbourne, Victoria: Tennis Australia. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "Branka Pupovac". New South Wales, Australia: Motor Accidents Authority. 1998. Archived from the original on 8 October 1999. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ a b Marks, Kathy (12 August 2000). "Calendar shows the naked truth about disabled athletes". The Independent. London, England. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ "Top Players Advance in Wheelchair Tennis". Los Angeles Times (Orange County ed.). Los Angeles, California. 15 October 1997. Sports; PART-C; Sports Desk, page 7.
- ^ "Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games Success". Parliament of New South Wales. 1 November 2000. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ "Team MAA 2000". New South Wales, Australia: Motor Accidents Authority. 2000. Archived from the original on 8 October 1999. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
- ^ "Daniela Di Toro". Australian Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
External links
- Branka Pupovac at Tennis Australia
- Branka Pupovac at the International Tennis Federation
- Branka Pupovac at the International Paralympic Committee