Branka Pupovac is a Paralympic wheelchair tennis competitor from Australia.

Personal

Pupovac was born on 3 March 1972 in Wollongong, New South Wales. She is from Sydney, New South Wales and attended the University of Wollongong

University of Wollongong

The University of Wollongong is a public university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney...

 where she earned a Bachelor of Commerce

Bachelor of Commerce

A Bachelor of Commerce is an undergraduate degree in commerce and related subjects. The degree is also known as the Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, or BCA...

. In 2000, she was studying to become a counsellor. Pupovac is an incomplete paraplegic, as a result of an accident while riding in 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.

Pupovac, alongside Karni Liddell

Karni Liddell

Karni Liddell is a Paralympic swimming competitor from Australia.-Personal:Liddell was born on 1 March 1979, and is from Queensland.She is a radio presenter for 4BC....

, Hamish MacDonald

Hamish MacDonald (athlete)

Hamish MacDonald is a Paralympic athletics competitor from Australia.-Personal:He was born on 19 August 1974 and lives in Waramanga, Australian Capital Territory. He has cerebral palsy. , he has a job with the Australian Sports Commission...

 and Charmaine Dalli, was one of eighteen Australian Paralympians photographed by Emma Hack for a nude calendar. The photograph of her in the calendar features her topless and covered in brown and gold body paint.

Tennis

Pupovac first competed internationally in wheelchair tennis in 1996. In 1996, she was chosen as a member of the Australian Paralympic's Wheelchair tennis Development Squad. She was later chosen to be a member of Australia's World Team Cup. 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 In 1998, she was ranked 14th in the world for women's singles and doubles tennis. While preparing for the 2000 Summer Paralympics, she would train up to six days a week. In 1998, she made the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. The same year, at the US Open, she won the consolation draw. In 1998, she also made the finals of the British Open consolation draw. In August 1999, she had her highest single's international ranking when she was ranked ninth in the world.In 2000, her competitive sport participation was sponsored by the Motor Accidents Authority in New South Wales. In 2000, she finished second at the Australian Open and French Open in the consolidation draw. She was a 1998 and 2000 Motor Accidents Authority Paralympian. She won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Games

2000 Summer Paralympics

The 2000 Paralympic Games were held in Sydney, Australia, from 18 October to 29 October. The eleventh Summer Paralympic Games, an estimated 3800 athletes took part in the Sydney programme. They commenced with the opening ceremony on 18 October 2000...

 in the Women's Doubles event, with Daniela Di Toro

Daniela Di Toro

Daniela Di Toro is a Paralympic tennis player competitor from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.-Personal life: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...

as her partner. In October 2000, she had her highest doubles international ranking when she was ranked 12th. She competed in her final international competition in 2004, at the World Team Cup in New Zealand.