Danielle Marie Lao (born May 28, 1991) is an inactive American tennis player.
She achieved a career-high singles ranking of 152 by the WTA on April 1, 2019, and has won four singles titles and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit.
In 2013, she co-authored a top-selling tennis book with Rick Limpert called The Invaluable Experience. In the book, Lao takes readers through her college tennis career and shows why playing a sport in college might be the best decision you could ever make.
Career
Junior and college years
Lao won the 2008 USTA National Open.[1] She competed for the USC Trojans where she was a two-time All-American and team captain.[2]
Professional career
Lao plays primarily on the ITF Women's Circuit. Her best performance came at the Stockton Challenger when she reached the final of the $60k tournament, before losing in two close sets to fellow American Madison Brengle.
Performance timelines
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.
Singles
| Tournament | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | W–L | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | Q3 | Q3 | Q1 | A | 0–0 | ||
| French Open | A | Q1 | Q1 | A | Q1 | A | 0–0 | ||
| Wimbledon | A | A | Q3 | NH | 1R | Q3 | 0–1 | ||
| US Open | 1R | 1R | Q1 | A | Q1 | Q1 | 0–2 | ||
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | ||
| WTA 1000 | |||||||||
| Indian Wells Open | A | A | Q1 | NH | A | A | 0–0 | ||
| Career statistics | |||||||||
| Year-end ranking | 238 | 170 | 183 | 217 | 259 | 253 | $533,319 | ||
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 8 (4 titles, 4 runner–ups)
|
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Apr 2015 | León Challenger, Mexico | 15,000 | Hard |  Aleksandrina Naydenova
|
3–6, 6–3, 7–5 |
| Win | 2–0 | Jun 2015 | ITF Baton Rouge, United States | 25,000 | Clay |  Brooke Austin
|
7–5, 6–3 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Feb 2017 | ITF Surprise, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Caroline Dolehide
|
3–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 2–2 | May 2017 | ITF Changwon, South Korea | 25,000 | Hard |  Gabriella Taylor
|
2–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 2–3 | Oct 2018 | Stockton Challenger, United States | 60,000 | Hard | Madison Brengle
|
5–7, 6–7(10–12) |
| Win | 3–3 | Mar 2021 | ITF Newport Beach, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Claire Liu
|
6–2, 4–6, 6–2 |
| Loss | 3–4 | May 2022 | ITF Nottingham, United Kingdom | 25,000 | Hard | Sonay Kartal
|
1–6, 0–6 |
| Win | 4–4 | Jul 2022 | ITF Roehampton, United Kingdom | 25,000 | Hard |  Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove
|
7–5, 6–4 |
Doubles: 10 (3 titles, 7 runner–ups)
|
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Feb 2014 | Rancho Santa Fe Open, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Keri Wong
|
Samantha Crawford  Xu Yifan
|
6–3, 2–6, [10–12] |
| Win | 1–1 | Apr 2014 | ITF Pelham, US | 25,000 | Clay | Keri Wong
|
Dia Evtimova  Ilona Kremen
|
1–6, 6–4, [10–7] |
| Loss | 1–2 | May 2014 | ITF Raleigh, US | 25,000 | Clay | Keri Wong
|
 Hsu Chieh-yu Alexandra Mueller
|
3–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 1–3 | Jun 2014 | ITF El Paso, US | 25,000 | Hard | Hsu Chieh-yu
|
Jamie Loeb Ashley Weinhold
|
6–4, 4–6, [13–15] |
| Loss | 1–4 | Oct 2014 | ITF Florence, US | 25,000 | Hard | Keri Wong
|
Jamie Loeb Sanaz Marand
|
3–6, 6–7(5) |
| Win | 2–4 | Apr 2015 | León Challenger, Mexico |
15,000 | Hard |  Maria Fernanda Alves
|
 Kim Grajdek  Mayo Hibi
|
5–7, 7–6(5), [10–4] |
| Loss | 2–5 | Jun 2015 | ITF Sumter, US | 25,000 | Hard | Jacqueline Cako
|
Alexandra Mueller Ashley Weinhold
|
7–5, 5–7, [6–10] |
| Loss | 2–6 | Jul 2015 | Stockton Challenger, US | 50,000 | Hard | Kaitlyn Christian
|
Jamie Loeb Sanaz Marand
|
3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 3–6 | Feb 2016 | ITF Surprise, US | 25,000 | Hard | Jacqueline Cako
|
Emina Bektas Sarah Lee
|
6–2, 4–6, [10–8] |
| Loss | 3–7 | Aug 2016 | ITF Fort Worth, US | 25,000 | Hard | Jacqueline Cako
|
Hsu Chieh-yu  Chanel Simmonds
|
0–6, 4–6 |
References
- ^ "Danielle Lao Bio - University of Southern California Official Athletic Site". Usctrojans.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ "Former USC Player Danielle Lao (@TheLittleGiant) Reaches New Heights on Kindle | Tennis Atlantic". Tenniseastcoast.com. January 2, 2014. Archived from the original on September 12, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
External links
- Danielle Lao at the Women's Tennis Association
- Danielle Lao at the International Tennis Federation
- Official website
- USC Trojans profile
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