David Hall
Former professional wheelchair tennis player
David Hall is one of Australia’s most successful tennis players, having won over 80 tournaments and finishing as World Number 1 for six years.
After a road accident left 16-year old David in hospital for 4 months, David had to come to terms with the amputation of both legs. In spite of this, his determination and perseverance helped him overcome this challenge.
It was during a chance encounter with Terry Mason, a local wheelchair tennis player, when David rediscovered his passion for Tennis. Having planned tennis as a young boy, David was inspired to train as a wheelchair tennis player.
In 1990, David took his tennis career into the professional leagues and moved to Boulder, Colorado where he received expert coaching from Rich Berman. It was not long before David would become the first foreign player to win the Men’s Singles at the US Open, making him a legend in wheelchair tennis history. Within the same year, David would finish as the first ever Australian to reach World Number 1.
Over his extensive career, David has won over 80 tournaments which includes 9 Australian Opens, 8 US Opens, 7 British Opens, 8 Japan Opens and 2 season ending NEC Masters Championships. He was also instrumental in helping Australia win the World Team Cup four times, and has even finished six years as World Number 1.
The highlight of David’s career happened in the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games when he won Australia’s first ever Gold Medal in the Men’s Singles Competition. An incredible 10,000 fans cheered him on for Australia’s most memorable wheelchair tennis match of all time.
He would also go on to win Bronze in Singles and Silver and Doubles in the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics, as well as Silver in Singles and Bronze in Doubles in the 2004 Athens Paralympics.
David would end his 15-year career in 2005, and was recognised for his impressive tennis career by being inducted into the Australian Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. Shortly after, he was also inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in 2015 where his bronze bust was unveiled to a full crowd at Rod Laver Arena. The bust can now be seen alongside other tennis legends at the Australian Open in Garden Square.
He was also inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame at Newport, Rhode Island. With an introduction by his long-term coach Rich Berman, and with Billie Jean King in the crowd, David reflected on his tennis career in a moving and deeply personal speech.