12-year-old Daneila Del Mastro began competing at the national level at age 10—and quickly climbed the ranks. Photos: Hola Productions
Daniela Del Mastro, a top-ranked 12-year-old, has her sights set on going pro.
Some people are lucky enough to know at a young age what they want to be when they grow up. Even fewer, like Daniela Del Mastro, are well on their way there by age 12.
By early this year, Daniela was the top-ranked 12-year-old tennis player in the United States. This is a huge accomplishment for any athlete, and Daniela is grounded and ready to keep competing. “I’m proud of myself, and I hope to keep going at this same rate as I get older and get into older age groups, but for now, I’m just happy with where I’m at,” she says.
Daniela comes from an athletic family—her mom, dad and brother are all into sports, and her parents were Division 1 athletes in college. Her mom, Emilie Del Mastro, says that when her kids were young, she wanted them to try all sorts of things and just have fun with it. “We don’t care what it is. We wanted them to do something that helps you gain confidence,” Emilie says.
The Maple Grove family realized that Daniela had a special skill for tennis when she was 8 years old. A coach saw her playing and encouraged Daniela and her parents to consider serious training. “Everyone was talking us out of it, saying it should just be for fun,” Emilie says. However, Daniela started playing with high schoolers, which gave her confidence and increased her skill. “She was like, ‘OK, I can do this!’” Emilie says.
Daniela played in her first national tournament at age 10. She did very well and returned with a sense of commitment. This was it. “I feel like that made me wanna play a lot more,” she says. The experience of being at a national tournament around other players at her skill level or higher motivated her to continue improving her game.
These days, Daniela is training most days of the week and traveling often to national tournaments. She goes to school online to accommodate her schedule and is supported by a group of coaches, including a sports psychologist. Because of this unique experience, Daniela has had the chance to meet people and make friends from all over the country. “At tournaments, you meet friends through other people or by being doubles partners and get their numbers or social media,” she says. “You go out to dinner with them, hang out.”
Daniela’s tennis career is gaining momentum, and with her higher ranking comes sweeter wins along with some tough losses. She is now often playing against people who are older than her or ranked higher than her, but she is rarely deterred by this. “I just play my game and see what I can,” she says.
“It’s really important in life to learn, more than learning how to win, learning how to bounce back from loss and be persistent at a goal and what you want,” Emilie says. Daniela’s goal is to go pro, and she has a couple of favorites she admires at the moment. “I like Novak Djokovic because he’s very confident and has won a ton of grand slams. I like Aryna Sabalenka and her game style,” she says.
At the end of the day, it’s about the game for Daniela. “I really like competing,” she says. Focusing on her mindset and goals helps her get to the court and do what she’s there to do: play tennis.
