Zupancic won gold medals for Canada at the 2010, 2013 and 2015 Pan Am judo championships.

Hiroshi Namakura contacted Yoshiyuki Matsuoka who is a former Olympic Champion and head coach at a private women's judo club which is sponsored by the company Komatsu Limited.

After her visit, Zupancic went on to win medals at a World Cup in Hungary, and a Grand Prix in Germany and then a gold at the 2010 Pan American Judo Championships in El Salvador.

She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, losing to eventual gold winner Lucie Décosse in the second round.

[5] At the 2016 Olympics, she beat Esther Stam in the second round, before losing to Haruka Tachimoto, the eventual champion, in the quarterfinals.