| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Residence | Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 14 January 1970 Sydney |
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| Turned pro | 1993 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Singles | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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David Hall (born 14 January 1970) is a wheelchair tennis player from Australia. Born in Sydney, Hall was raised in the coastal town of Budgewoi, New South Wales, attending Budgewoi Public School and Northlakes High School.[1] He has been referred to as Australia’s greatest ever wheelchair tennis player.[2]
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On 11 October 1986, at the age of 16, Hall lost his legs after being hit by a car. After a long period of rehabilitation, Hall began working as a clerk at the local police station. It was around this time that Hall was looking through the local paper and saw a picture of a man in a wheelchair playing tennis.[3]
Hall had played tennis growing up and at the age of 13 and 14 had been Club Champion at his local tennis club. Inspired, Hall began to play and entered his first wheelchair tennis competition, the 'Albury-Wodonga Classic', in 1988. This led to him competing in his first Australian Open in February 1989. Playing in the C division, Hall won. The following year, Hall participated in his first international competition and turned professional in 1993. 1995 saw Hall relocate to the United States. The year culminated with Hall winning the US Open Singles title and being ranked number one in the world.[3]
In his career, Hall won all of the major world titles and was ranked as the world number one player for six years. He won Paralympic gold, silver and bronze medals and 18 Super Series titles.[4] He was a member of Australia's World Cup winning teams in 1994, 1996, 2000 and 2002. He was ranked World No 1 for eight of the years between 1995 and 2005.[5] Between 1995 and 2005 he won the Australian Open Wheelchair tennis title nine times, the British Open seven times, the US Open eight times,[6] and the Japan Open eight times.[6] For most of his tennis career, Hall was coached by Rich Berman.[7]
Hall played professionally for more than a decade before officially retiring from competition in 2006.[8] He announced his retirement from the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour in June 2006.[7] HE won the NEC Singles Masters titles in 2002 and 2004.[9]
Hall won eight Australian Opens in the men's singles wheelchair event.[7] He first won the men's single wheelchair event at the Australian Open in 1996. That same year, he also won the men's doubles with his partner, Michael Connell.[10] He won his first British Open in 1995.[11]
Hall won five British Opens in the men's singles wheelchair event.[7]
He won the Japan Open eight times.[6]
Hall won eight US Opens in the men's singles wheelchair event.[7] Six of these wins were between 1995 and 2002.[12] In 2006, Japan’s Shingo Kunieda beat David Hall in the quarter finals of the US Open.[13] Hall was the first non-American to win the U.S. Open Super Series title.[9] He won five of these eight titles in a row between 2000 and 2004. His 2005 run was ended because France’sMichael Jeremiasz won that year. Hall did well in 1999, only having been beaten by the American Steve Welch in the finals.[14]
He won Paralympic gold, silver and bronze medals and 18 Super Series titles.[4] The silver and bronze were earned in 1996 and the gold medal came in 2000, while competing at home in Australia.[11] Hall represented Australia at the Paralympic Games four times; First in 1992 at Barcelona, Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004.[5]
He competed in more than seventy other tournaments.[7]
Hall's accomplishments culminated in him being inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2010.He is one of only three Paralympians to have been given the honour.[15][16]
It was an amazing feeling and made me feel very proud to be an Australian, especially considering we have such a rich sporting history in this country.For me, the wonderful thing about being inducted is that it recognises disability sporting achievements, being recognised felt like a real validation for Paralympic sport and Paralympic athletes.[2]
Hall was inducted into the New South Wales Hall of Champions in 2009.[9]
In 2010 Hall was appointed an ambassador for wheelchair tennis by the International Tennis Federation to help promote the sport in Australia and worldwide.[4] In 2011, Hall will sit on the selection panel for the Newcombe Medal Award for Most Outstanding Athlete with a Disability.[17]
David Hall was a write for Sports 'n Spokes Magazine.[18] Hall also works for Tennis Australia in promoting and raising awareness of wheelchair tennis within Australia.[4] As part of a Sydney Morning Herald report in 2009, Hall toured the city of Sydney to explore the city's wheelchair accessibility. Hall highlighted some of the frustrations of using public transport.[19]
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