Danielle Lao Explained

Danielle Lao
Fullname:Danielle Marie Lao
Residence:Arcadia, California
Birth Date:28 May 1991
Birth Place:Pasadena, California
College:University of Southern California
Played:Right (two-handed backhand)
Coach:Roger Smith
Careerprizemoney:US$ 629,247
Singlestitles:4 ITF
Highestsinglesranking:No. 152 (April 1, 2019)
Australianopenresult:Q3 (2019, 2020)
Frenchopenresult:Q1 (2018, 2019, 2021)
Wimbledonresult:1R (2021)
Usopenresult:1R (2017, 2018)
Doublestitles:3 ITF
Usopendoublesresult:1R (2016)
Updated:August 2, 2024

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

Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.

Singles

Tournament201720182019202020212022
Grand Slam tournaments
style=text-align:leftAustralian OpenAAQ3Q3Q1A0–0
style=text-align:leftFrench OpenAQ1Q1AQ1A0–0
style=text-align:leftWimbledonAAQ3style=color:#767676NH1RQ30–1
style=text-align:leftUS Open1R1RQ1AQ1Q10–2
style=text-align:leftWin–loss0–10–10–00–00–10–00–3
WTA 1000
style=text-align:leftIndian Wells OpenAAQ1style=color:#767676NHAA0–0
Career statistics
Year-end ranking238170183217259253$533,319

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 8 (4 titles, 4 runner–ups)

Legend
$60,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$15,000 tournaments
Finals by surface
Hard (3–4)
Clay (1–0)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Apr 2015León Challenger, Mexico15,000Hard Aleksandrina Naydenova3–6, 6–3, 7–5
Win2–0Jun 2015ITF Baton Rouge, United States25,000Clay Brooke Austin7–5, 6–3
Loss2–1Feb 2017ITF Surprise, United States25,000Hard Caroline Dolehide3–6, 1–6
Loss2–2May 2017ITF Changwon, South Korea25,000Hard Gabriella Taylor2–6, 2–6
Loss2–3Oct 2018Stockton Challenger, United States60,000Hard Madison Brengle5–7, 6–7(10–12)
Win3–3Mar 2021ITF Newport Beach, United States25,000Hard Claire Liu6–2, 4–6, 6–2
Loss3–4May 2022ITF Nottingham, United Kingdom25,000Hard Sonay Kartal1–6, 0–6
Win4–4Jul 2022bgcolor=lightblueITF Roehampton, United Kingdombgcolor=lightblue25,000Hard Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove7–5, 6–4

Doubles: 10 (3 titles, 7 runner–ups)

Legend
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$15,000 tournaments
Finals by surface
Hard (2–3)
Clay (1–4)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss0–1Feb 2014Rancho Santa Fe Open, United States25,000Hard Keri Wong Samantha Crawford
Xu Yifan
6–3, 2–6, [10–12]
Win1–1Apr 2014ITF Pelham, US25,000Clay Keri Wong Dia Evtimova
Ilona Kremen
1–6, 6–4, [10–7]
Loss1–2May 2014ITF Raleigh, US25,000Clay Keri Wong Hsu Chieh-yu
Alexandra Mueller
3–6, 3–6
Loss1–3Jun 2014ITF El Paso, US25,000Hard Hsu Chieh-yu Jamie Loeb
Ashley Weinhold
6–4, 4–6, [13–15]
Loss1–4Oct 2014ITF Florence, US25,000Hard Keri Wong Jamie Loeb
Sanaz Marand
3–6, 6–7(5)
Win2–4Apr 2015León Challenger,
Mexico
15,000Hard Maria Fernanda Alves Kim Grajdek
Mayo Hibi
5–7, 7–6(5), [10–4]
Loss2–5Jun 2015ITF Sumter, US25,000Hard Jacqueline Cako Alexandra Mueller
Ashley Weinhold
7–5, 5–7, [6–10]
Loss2–6Jul 2015Stockton Challenger, US50,000Hard Kaitlyn Christian Jamie Loeb
Sanaz Marand
3–6, 4–6
Win3–6Feb 2016ITF Surprise, US25,000Hard Jacqueline Cako Emina Bektas
Sarah Lee
6–2, 4–6, [10–8]
Loss3–7Aug 2016ITF Fort Worth, US25,000Hard Jacqueline Cako Hsu Chieh-yu
Chanel Simmonds
0–6, 4–6

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Danielle Lao Bio - University of Southern California Official Athletic Site . Usctrojans.com . 2017-05-22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140826054135/http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/danielle_lao_474305.html . 2014-08-26 .
  2. Web site: Former USC Player Danielle Lao (@TheLittleGiant) Reaches New Heights on Kindle | Tennis Atlantic . https://archive.today/20140912022326/http://tenniseastcoast.com/2014/01/02/former-usc-player-danielle-lao-thelittlegiant-reaches-new-heights-on-kindle/ . dead . September 12, 2014 . Tenniseastcoast.com . 2014-01-02 . 2017-05-22 .