Janel Manns

Manns was born on 28 May 1966[1] and is from Port Macquarie,[1][2] though she has lived in Sydney prior to moving back home.[3] She is left handed.[1] Following a bathroom accident at the age of thirty-two as a result of not safely crossing a wet floor, she became an incomplete paraplegic.[1] She works for Port Macquarie TAFE as a teacher, temporarily leaving her position in late June 2012 in order to prepare for the London Paralympics.[1][3]

Manns is a wheelchair tennis player.[1][4] She started playing the sport in 2005,[1][3] and debuted with the national team in 2006.[1] Prior to taking up tennis, she played wheelchair basketball.[3] She switched sports because it was easier to find local competitors in Port Macquarie.[3] She was invited to a Melbourne training camp after head tennis coach Greg Crump her she was switching sports.[3] Crump continues to coach her when she represents Australia.[5] In training, she has competed against able bodied players from her local club.[3]

Manns is a member of Kendall Tennis.[2][4][5] The club attempted to assist in funding some of her travels but had some difficulty in finding potential sponsors.[4] Her regular coach from the club is John Manderson, who also serves on the clubs committee.[2][3]

Manns at the 2012 London Paralympics

Manns won a bronze medal at the 2006 FESPIC Games in Kuala Lumpur, in her first appearance as a member of Australia's national team.[1] She won three golds at the 2007 Arafura Games, in the mixed team, doubles and in the singles events.[1] In 2010, she peaked in the rankings at seventeenth in the world in the singles event.[4] Because of financial problems that prevented her from traveling, she was unable to compete for a while and her ranking fell to sixty-third in the world.[4] In 2011, she played in several tournaments in South America, including competitions in Baranquilla, Santiago, Minas Gerais and Buneos Aires.[4] In Minas Gerais and Buneos Aires, she made the finals in the women's wheelchair singles.[4] In Baranquilla and Santiago, she made the semi-finals in the women's wheelchair singles.[1][4] She won the women's wheelchair doubles event with Argentine partner Andrea Medrano in Santiago and Baranquilla.[1][4] Following these events, she improved her world ranking to number thirty.[1][4] By April 2011, she had been selected as a member of Australia's Shadow Paralympic Squad ahead of the 2012 Summer Paralympics.[4]

Manns was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in women's singles and women's doubles wheelchair tennis[3][5] at what will be her first Paralympics.[5][6] Her doubles partner will be Daniela Di Toro.[3][5] Her first match is scheduled to start on 1 September.[6]

• Janel Manns at Tennis Australia