Elena Baltacha
Baltacha at the 2010 US Open
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| Country (sports) |
 United Kingdom
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|---|---|
| Born |
14 August 1983 Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | 4 May 2014 (aged 30) Ipswich, England |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Turned pro | 1997 |
| Retired | 2013 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | US$1,190,893 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 324–243 |
| Career titles | 0 WTA, 11 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 49 (13 September 2010) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (2005, 2010) |
| French Open | 2R (2011) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2002) |
| US Open | 2R (2010, 2011) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 59–59 |
| Career titles | 0 WTA, 4 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 211 (17 January 2011) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (2010) |
| Wimbledon | 2R (2005, 2010) |
| Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2002) |
| Team competitions | |
| Fed Cup | 33–16 |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tennis | ||
Representing  Scotland
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| Commonwealth Youth Games | ||
 |
2000 Edinburgh | Women's Team |
Elena Sergeevna Baltacha (Ukrainian: Олена Сергіївна Балтача; 14 August 1983 – 4 May 2014) was a Ukrainian-born British professional tennis player. Being a four-time winner of the AEGON Awards, she was also a long-term British No. 1, a position she held intermittently from 2002 to 2012. However, due to her absence from competition due to knee surgery, she dropped down the world rankings and at the time of her retirement on 18 November 2013, she was ranked as the world No. 221 and British No. 6. Her career high ranking of World No. 49 was achieved in September 2010.
Over the course of her career she won eleven ITF singles titles (five $25,000, two $50,000, two $75,000, and two $100,000) and four ITF doubles titles (all $25,000). She was also a runner-up in three ITF events in singles and four in doubles. In 2010, Baltacha had victories over top 10 players, including two victories over Li Na (the second of which came via retirement) and one against Francesca Schiavone, who at the time was the reigning French Open champion. In 2011 Baltacha won her highest ranked tournament on the ITF tour, the 2011 Aegon Nottingham Challenge.
Baltacha was diagnosed with liver cancer in January 2014, just a few weeks after her marriage to tennis coach Nino Severino. She died on 4 May 2014, aged 30, in her Ipswich home, surrounded by friends and family.
Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Baltacha moved with her family following a transfer of football clubs by her professional footballer father, Sergei. He represented the Soviet Union and played in the United Kingdom for Ipswich Town, St Johnstone and Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Her mother Olga represented the Soviet Union in both the pentathlon and heptathlon at the Olympic Games. Her brother Sergei played football for St Mirren and Millwall.
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