Down the line: Baltacha will be remembered as fighter on and off the court

Reem Abulleil - Reporter/Sub-editor 11:40 06/05/2014
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    • Sorely missed: The whole tennis fraternity have been left utterly bereft by the death of Elena Baltacha.

    The passing of Elena Baltacha, who lost her battle with liver cancer yesterday just a few months following her diagnosis, rocked the sports world. The massive outpour of loving tributes on social media comes as no surprise, because it’s always been impossible to find anyone who didn’t like Bally.

    In our own way of paying tribute to her ability on the court, we share five of her best moments in professional tennis.

    2002 Wimbledon

    Baltacha made the third round at her home slam as an 18-year-old wild card, taking out South African No32 seed Amanda Coetzer – ranked 200 places above her – en route. 

    2009 Aegon Pro Series in Shrewsbury

    Baltacha beat fellow Briton Katie O’Brien in the final of the tournament 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to enter the top-100 for the first time in her career. At the time, it was Baltacha's second $75K title. 

    “I feel like I’ve improved so much that now I know what I’m capable of and I know I can be a real danger,” she said after her win. 

    2010 Indian Wells
    Baltacha earned her first career victory over a top-10 player when she took out Li Na (ranked No10 at the time) in the second round of Indian Wells, where she had to go through qualifying before racing to the third round. The Scot survived a near three-hour, three-set marathon to beat Na in a third-set tiebreak and become the first British woman since 1998 to defeat a top-10 player.

    2010 Istanbul Cup
    Following a series of injuries and illnesses, Baltacha was in the form of her life, and she notched her second top-10 victory over reigning French Open champion at the time Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-2, to reach the quarter-finals. “I’m really proud of today. I’ve had such a great year, it feels amazing and I’d like to think that this is the real Elena Baltacha,” she said after her victory.

    September 2010
    Baltacha cracked the top-50 for the first time after reaching the second round of the US Open – her best showing in New York. After struggling with chronic liver disease and multiple injury layoffs, it was a crowning moment for the Kiev-born player who achieved her highest WTA ranking of her career by reaching 49 in the world.

    2012
    After 132 consecutive weeks as British number one, Baltacha's three year reign at the top of UK tennis comes to an end as rising star Laura Robson surpasses her.

    November 2013
    At the age of 30, Baltacha is forced to retire from the sport, citing a long running battle against illness and injury as the cause.

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