Elena Baltacha
Encyclopedia
Elena Baltacha is a British
professional
tennis
player of Ukrainian background. Being a four-time winner of the AEGON Award
, she is also the long standing British number 1, a position she has held intermittently since 2002. As of 24 November 2011 she holds a current world ranking of No. 50. Her career high ranking of World No. 49 was achieved on 13 September 2010.
Over the course of her career she has won ten ITF
singles titles (five $25,000, one $50,000, two $75,000 and two $100,000) and four ITF doubles titles (all $25,000). She has also twice been a runner-up in ITF events in singles and four times in doubles.
In 2010, Baltacha had victories over top 10 players, including two victories over Li Na
and one against Francesca Schiavone
, who at the time was the reigning French Open champion. In 2011, Baltacha won her most highest ranked tournament of the ITF tour winning the 2011 AEGON Nottingham Challenge
.
, Ukraine
. She comes from a sporting family: her father Sergei
is a former professional footballer, representing the USSR and playing in the United Kingdom with Ipswich Town
, St Johnstone and Inverness Caledonian Thistle
, and her mother Olga represented the USSR in both the pentathlon
and heptathlon
at the Olympic Games
. Her brother Sergei
played football for Scottish Football League
team St Mirren
of Paisley
and for Millwall
.
After arriving at Heathrow Airport on 13 January 1989, Baltacha moved to Ipswich
where her father was to play football for the next year before moving to Perth
where she grew up and spent her teenage years. At the age of 19 she was diagnosed with the liver condition primary sclerosing cholangitis
and in June 2010 she became patron of the Children's Liver Disease Foundation
.
Currently living in Ipswich
, England, she trains at Culford School
near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
and Ipswich Sports Club, where she is coached by Nino Severino, a multi-sports specialist in mental and movement training who has also worked with Ipswich Town F.C.
and in coaching martial arts athletes. Baltacha can also call on LTA's Head Coach of Women's Tennis Nigel Sears and LTA Coach Simon Walsh.
. Over the course of her career as a junior, she gained wins over players such as Svetlana Kuznetsova
, Gisela Dulko
(twice) and Anne Keothavong
. Her career-high singles ranking was World No. 77 and her final singles win-loss record was 40–40. Aside from junior ITF events, she also competed in the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2000
representing Scotland and won a silver medal alongside Karen Paterson
and Mhairi Brown in the women's team event.
As a doubles competitor, Baltacha won four tournaments and lost in the final of four more. She also lost in the semifinal stages of tournaments four times and the quarterfinals eight times. Her final doubles win-loss record was 37–30 and her career-high doubles ranking was World No. 60.
, Baltacha made her debut on the ITF circuit in Edinburgh
where she was beaten in the first round of the qualifying stages in three sets by Danica Kovakova. She did however reach the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament.
She played only three adult ITF tournaments in 1998
(Birmingham
, Southsea
and Glasgow
, all $10,000 events) and lost in the qualifying stages for each of them.
1999
saw her first ITF main draw appearances. She competed in four tournaments in total and reached the quarterfinals of the $10,000 tournament in Glasgow.
In April 2000
, Baltacha reached the quarterfinals of the $10,000 tournament in Bournemouth
as a qualifier. She was given a wild card
into the qualifying draw of her home Grand Slam
, The Championships, Wimbledon
where Flavia Pennetta
beat her in three sets. In October she received another wild card, this one into the Swisscom Challenge
, a tier I tournament held in Zürich
. The very next week she was a quarterfinalist at the $50,000 ITF tournament in Cardiff
. Her season ending singles ranking was World No. 397.
when she was forced to retire early in the second set. She was out of action until late April when she reached the quarterfinals of the $10,000 tournament in Hatfield
. Two weeks later she reached the quarterfinals of the $25,000 tournament in Edinburgh as a qualifier. She followed this up with a run to the semifinals of the $25,000 event in Surbiton
. She was then given a wild card
into the qualifying draw for the tier II
event in Eastbourne
, the Britannic Asset Management International Championships where she beat Frenchwoman, Virginie Razzano
, in the final round of qualifying to reach the main draw. Conchita Martínez
beat her in the first round. Just a week later she was given a wild card into the main draw of Wimbledon
to give her the first appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam
. She was beaten by Nathalie Dechy
in round one. Following Wimbledon she reached yet another ITF quarterfinal; this one in a $25,000 tournament in Felixstowe
. She lost in round one of the qualifying tournament for the US Open in August and competed in four more ITF tournaments, reaching the quarterfinals of two of them (both $25,000). She ended the year with a singles ranking of World No. 248.
. She played for Great Britain
in the Fed Cup
in April and won her singles rubber against Norway's, Annette Aksdal. She then beat Lina Stančiūtė
from Lithuania
in the relegation play offs in three sets. Following this she attempted to qualify for the tier III
, Croatian Bol Ladies Open
where she was beaten in round one of the qualifying draw. This was the first of a string of five consecutive losses, the last of which was in the first round of the qualifying draw for the DFS Classic, a tier III event. She broke this string of losses with a win over Alina Jidkova
in round one of the qualifying draw for the tier II
, Britannic Asset Management International Championships. She was beaten by Elena Likhovtseva
in the second round of qualifying. She was then given a wild card
into the main draw of Wimbledon
where she beat María Vento-Kabchi
in the first round and Amanda Coetzer
in the second round before losing to Elena Likhovtseva (for the second time in two consecutive tournaments) in the third round.
Her next tournament after Wimbledon was the $25,000 ITF event in Felixstowe which she won by beating Irishwoman, Kelly Liggan
, in the final to give her the first ITF singles title of her career. Two weeks later she won her second title in Pamplona
, again $25,000, when she defeated Virginie Pichet in the final. After this she attempted to qualify for the US Open but lost in the first round of the qualifying tournament for the second consecutive year. She played two more $25,000 ITF tournaments after the US Open, Glasgow and Southampton
, where she reached the semifinals and quarterfinals respectively. Her season ending ranking for 2002 was World No. 157.
season started slowly; she lost in round one of the qualifying tournament for the first Grand Slam
of the year, the Australian Open
. In April she was again part of the Great Britain Fed Cup team but lost her only match against Hungary's Petra Mandula
. She spent May failing to qualify for the tier III tournament
, the Internationaux de Strasbourg
and the second Grand Slam of the year, the French Open
. In June she was given a wild card
into the main draw of the DFS Classic but was forced to retire during her first round match verses fellow Brit, Jane O'Donoghue, after the first game of the final set. She was then awarded another wild card; this one into the qualifying draw of the tier II
Hastings Direct International where she was beaten by Virginie Razzano. For the third year running, she received a wild card into the main draw of Wimbledon
where she forced the former world No. 5, Jelena Dokić
, to fight for her eventual three-set victory. This was Baltacha's final match of the year as she underwent invasive surgery after Wimbledon (to determine the cause of her persistent liver troubles) which put her out of action until 2004. As a result, her year-end singles ranking fell to World No. 373.
by reaching the semifinals of her first two ITF tournaments of the year. These were the $10,000 event in Hull
and the $25,000 event in Sunderland. She played in the Fed Cup
for the Great Britain Fed Cup team where she won her two singles rubbers against Turkey
and Romania
by beating Cigdem Duru and Monica Niculescu
respectively. She also beat Irishwoman, Yvonne Doyle, in the Europe/Africa Group II play-offs. In June, Samantha Stosur
beat her in the first round of the DFS Classic and Cara Black
beat her in the final round of the qualifying tournament for the Hastings Direct International one week later. Baltacha then headed to Wimbledon
main draw courtesy of another wild card
. She demolished World No. 61, Marta Marrero
in round one before falling to three-time Grand Slam
champion, Jennifer Capriati
in the second round.
Between Wimbledon and the US Open
qualifying tournament (where she reached the second round before being beaten by Angelique Widjaja), she suffered three consecutive first-round losses in $50,000 ITF tournaments in the United States. After the US Open she reached the final of a $25,000 ITF event in Jersey where she was beaten by Emma Laine
. She spent the remainder of her year competing on the ITF circuit and her year-end singles ranking rose to World No. 202.
qualifying tournament she won three matches in straight sets to successfully qualify; she beat Els Callens
, Jaslyn Hewitt and Teryn Ashley in rounds one, two and three respectively. In the first round of the main draw she beat Katarina Srebotnik
who later remarked that the Brit was "on fire" and that "if [Elena] plays like today, she can beat anyone. Some of the shots she was hitting were unbelievable." She continued her winning streak with another three-set victory in round two, this one over Frenchwoman, Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro
. Unfortunately for Baltacha, she ran out of steam in the third round, losing to No.15 seed, Silvia Farina Elia
. She used her momentum from her good performance in the first Grand Slam
of the year to carry her to the semifinals of her next tournament, a $25,000 ITF event in Sunderland where she lost to Sofia Arvidsson
. She then immediately reached the finals of another $25,000 ITF event (this one in Redbridge
) before being beaten by Nika Ožegović
. She again played for Great Britain in the Fed Cup
. She lost her singles rubber against Ana Timotić
from Serbia
, won her singles rubber verses Karina-Ildor Jacobsgaard and was demolished in her third singles rubber against Katarina Srebotnik in retribution for her first round Australian Open exit. In the Europe/Africa Group I play-off, Baltacha was defeated by Ukrainian
, Alona Bondarenko.
She then failed to qualify for two consecutive tier I events before losing in the first round of qualifying for the French Open
when she lost to Elise Tamaëla
. In June, three consecutive wild cards
granted her entry into the main draws of the DFS Classic, the Hastings Direct International and Wimbledon
where she was beaten by Milagros Sequera
in the second round (having beaten Alona Bondarenko in the first), Conchita Martínez in round one and Sabine Klaschka
in the first round respectively. Following Wimbledon, Baltacha traveled to the ITF circuit in the United States without much success; she won only one of five matches she played in the run-up to the US Open qualifying draw where she also lost in the first round of qualifying. She then returned to the ITF circuit and reached the quarterfinals of the $25,000 event in Glasgow, the semifinals of the $25,000 event in Bolton
and won the $25,000 tournament in Jersey. Her year-end singles ranking for the 2005 season was World No. 122.
where she lost to Yuan Meng
at the second stage of qualifying. In February she played one $25,000 ITF
event (where she lost to Melanie South
in the first round) and attempted to qualify for three consecutive tier II tournaments
: Antwerp
, Dubai
(beaten in final round by Kateryna Bondarenko
) and Qatar
. This was then followed by two first round losses in $25,000 ITF tournaments and a run to the semifinals of another. In May she again represented Great Britain in the Fed Cup
and again won all three of her singles matches. She beat: Hungarian
, Kyra Nagy, Bulgaria's
Dimana Krastevitch and Valeria Bondarenko
from Ukraine. In the Europe/Africa play-off however, she lost to Slovakia's
, Magdaléna Rybáriková
. After the Fed Cup, Elena played only one more tournament in 2006. This tournament was the French Open
where she lost in round one of qualifying to Yevgenia Savransky. She underwent keyhole surgery on a prolapsed disc on the 7th June and spent the rest of the season out-of-action recovering and as a result, her season-ending ranking was World No. 347.
after surgery on a prolapsed disc, her singles ranking had fallen to 660 in the world and as such, she had to qualify for her first $25,000 ITF
tournament of the year in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
. She successfully qualified before losing to Sorana Cîrstea
in the first round. She competed in two more $25,000 events in March (reaching the quarterfinals of one) before heading to Bulgaria
to compete in the Fed Cup
for Britain. She played two singles matches (winning one) and four doubles matches (winning two). Following this she reached two consecutive $25,000 ITF semifinals in Incheon
and Gimcheon
, one as a qualifier and the other as a lucky loser
. She consolidated these results with a run to the quarterfinals of another $25,000 in Changwon
. In June she received a wild card
into the main draw of the DFS Classic
where she showed "fighting spirit" in her first round loss to Milagros Sequera. She then received a wild card into the qualifying draw for the Hastings Direct International
and proved she deserved it by dropping only nine games in the three matches she won to successfully qualify. She then went on to beat the British No. 1, Anne Keothavong, in round one of the main draw in a tense three set match and join fellow Britons, Melanie South and Katie O'Brien
in the second round, making this the first year since 1991 that three British women reached the second round. She could not quite match up to World No. 14, Nicole Vaidišová
, in the second round though and was beaten in straight sets. She then received another wild card into the main draw of Wimbledon
but wasn't able to overcome the 19th seed, Katarina Srebotnik.
After Wimbledon, Baltacha headed to the United States to compete again on the ITF circuit where she reached the quarterfinals of the $50,000 event in Lexington
. After being beaten in the first round of qualifying for the US Open by Evgeniya Rodina
, Baltacha headed to Japan to attempt to qualify for the Japan Open. She beat María Emilia Salerni
, Agnes Szatmari
and Natalie Grandin
to qualify and then continued winning by defeating Yan Zi
in the first round. She was defeated by No. 5 seed and eventual champion, Virginie Razzano, in round two. This was followed by an unsuccessful attempt to qualify for a tier III
event in Bangkok
and then a return to the ITF circuit where she reached the semifinals in Makinohara and the quarterfinals in Hamanako (both $25,000), losing both times to Japan's, Seiko Okamoto. Her final singles ranking of 2007 was World No. 187.
season by qualifying for the ASB Classic
, beating compatriot, Melanie South, along the way. She faced two-time ASB Classic champion and No. 7 seed, Eleni Danilidou, in the opening round and was beaten. She then progressed to round two of the qualifying tournament for the Australian Open
when her first round opponent opponent, Virginie Pichet, retired when down one set. She was beaten in the second round of qualifying by Zhang Shuai
. In February she tried to qualify for Doha
(tier I) and Dubai
(tier II
) but was unsuccessful in both. She then returned to action on the ITF circuit
and won her next two consecutive tournaments: Jersey ($25,000) and Torhout
($75,000). In May she again lost in the first round of the qualifying tournament for the French Open
and in June she again received a wild card
into the main draw of the DFS Classic
where she was beaten in round one by Ekaterina Makarova
. Another wild card granted her entry into the qualifying rounds of the International Women's Open
where she won her first match against Naomi Cavaday
before retiring at one set down in her second match against Tsvetana Pironkova
. She then played in the main draw of Wimbledon
(again courtesy of a wild card) where she beat Angelique Kerber
in the first round. She was defeated in the second round by China's eventual semifinalist, Zheng Jie
in straight sets.
Baltacha then lost three consecutive matches before defeating Anna Korzeniak
and Carly Gullickson
in the first two rounds of qualifying for the US Open. She fell just short of reaching the main draw when she lost to Julie Coin
in the final round of qualifying. She played seven more higher-level ITF tournaments over the rest of the year and reached the quarterfinals in one of them: the $50,000 event in Ismaning
where she lost to Julia Görges
. Her year-end ranking was World No. 136.
by falling in the first round of qualifying for the ASB Classic
before winning three matches to successfully qualify for the Australian Open
. She joined compatriots, Katie O'Brien (also a qualifier), Anne Keothavong and Melanie South in the main draw; the first time that four British women had competed in the main draw of a Grand Slam other than Wimbledon
since the 1992 U.S. Open. Baltacha came up against German, Anna-Lena Grönefeld
, in the first round and defeated her comfortably to set up a clash with former World No. 1, Amélie Mauresmo
. Despite surprising many by taking the first set, Baltacha eventually lost in three sets.
February saw Baltacha represent her country in the Fed Cup
where she won all three of her singles rubbers in straight sets. In April, Baltacha was the top seed in the $75,000 ITF
tournament in Monzón
where she reached the quarterfinals before losing to former world No. 4, Kimiko Date Krumm in a close three-set match. Later that month she reached the final of a $25,000 ITF where she faced the No. 6 seed, Junri Namigata
, and won to give her the sixth ITF singles title of her career. In May she reached the semifinals of a $50,000 ITF in Fukuoka
before going on to reach the final round of qualifying for the French Open, where she lost to Yaroslava Shvedova
. Between the French Open and Wimbledon, she reached the semifinals of another $50,000 ITF and reached the second round of the International WTA tournament
, the AEGON Classic
. She beat Georgie Stoop
in the first round before falling in an epic three-set battle with the then World No. 27, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
. She received a wild card into the main draw of Wimbledon in June where she came up against World No. 33, Alona Bondarenko, in the first round. Baltacha managed to come back from a set down to win in three sets. She then went on to lose to Kirsten Flipkens
in round two.
This was followed by three consecutive losses in the first round of qualifying for WTA events before Baltacha won two matches to qualify for the Rogers Cup
, a Premier tournament
. She faced former World No. 1, Kim Clijsters
, in the second tournament of her comeback and lost to the Belgian in straight sets. Following this, she reached the final round of qualifying for the US Open
before going on to win the $75,000 ITF in Shrewsbury
. She beat fellow Brit, Katie O'Brien, in the final. This result was enough to put both finalists into the top 100 for the first time in each of their careers. After this, Baltacha reached the semifinals of one more $50,000 ITF, the second round of a $100,000 ITF (where she had to withdraw due to food poisoning) and the quarterfinals of a $75,000 ITF tournament. These showings helped her accumulate enough points to catapult her back to the British number 1 spot. Her year-end ranking was World No. 87.
season by winning three matches to successfully qualify for the ASB Classic
in Auckland, New Zealand. In the first round of the main draw she was beaten by Ioana Raluca Olaru
in straight sets. She then went on to win another three matches to qualify for the Moorilla Hobart International
before again losing in the first round, this time to resurgent former world number 4, Jelena Dokić. Her next tournament was the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open
. For the first time in her career she was able to gain direct entry into the main draw of the tournament due to her improved ranking. She defeated Frenchwoman, Pauline Parmentier
, in the first round. As Baltacha’s compatriot, Katie O’Brien, also reached the second round, 2010 marked the first time since 1991 that more than one British woman had reached the second round of the Australian Open. In round two Elena defeated the 30th seed from Ukraine, Kateryna Bondarenko but she was beaten in the round of 32 by Dinara Safina
, the World Number Two. In the doubles tournament she partnered Liga Dekmeijere
to reach the second round. In February, Baltacha participated in the Fed Cup
where the British team was competing in the Europe/Africa Zone
. She played two singles matches, losing against Sybille Bammer
and defeating Sandra Martinovic from the Austria team
and the Bosnia and Herzegovina team
respectively. She also partnered Sarah Borwell
in two doubles matches, winning both. Following this performance in the Fed Cup, Elena competed in a $100,000 American ITF tournament in Midland
where she reached the final and defeated Lucie Hradecká
to win the biggest title of her career. Baltacha then went on to compete in the Cellular South Cup as the 8th seed. She reached the quarterfinals before losing to the top seed and eventual champion, Maria Sharapova
. March saw Baltacha qualify for the BNP Paribas Open
. After defeating Alexa Glatch
in the first round, she faced world No.10, Li Na, in round two and went on to win the match. This gave Elena the first victory of her career over a player ranked in the top-10. Alicia Molik
defeated Baltacha in the third round. In her only other tournament during March, Baltacha had to win two matches to qualify for the Sony Ericsson Open
before going on to lose to Yanina Wickmayer
in the second round of the main tournament. After this, she went on to reach the quarterfinals of a $100,000 ITF tournament in Johannesberg before beginning her clay court season with a loss to Gréta Arn
in the first round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
, a WTA Premier 5 event
. In her final event before the French Open
, Bally participated in the Internationaux de Strasbourg
as the 8th seed but was forced to retire in the second round due to a back injury. In her first round match at the French Open, she was beaten by Agnieszka Radwańska
in straight sets.
Her grass court season then began and the AEGON Trophy
, a $50,000 ITF event in Nottingham, gave Baltacha the second title of the year. She didn’t drop a set throughout the tournament, including in the final when she faced Carly Gullickson. Baltacha stayed on grass for her next tournament, the AEGON Classic
, where she was the No.12 seed. She was forced to retire after losing the first set in her first round match against Kaia Kanepi
. Her next event was the AEGON International
where during her first round match with Li Na, the Chinese player had to retire with a leg injury after winning the first set on a tie-break. After a second-round win over another Chinese player, Zheng Jie, she lost to Sam Stosur in three sets in the quarterfinals. Nevertheless, this was the first time since 1983 that a British woman had progressed to the quarterfinals of this tournament. Baltacha then suffered a disappointing first round loss at Wimbledon
. She lost in three sets to Petra Martić
after leading by a set and 5–2.
In the lead up to the US Open
, Baltacha played in the Istanbul Cup
, where she reached the quarterfinals. Along the way she defeated world No.8 and reigning French Open champion, Francesca Schiavone, in straight sets to give her the best win of her career. She was beaten by Andrea Petković
in the quarterfinals. Baltacha then lost four of her next five matches before participating in the main draw of the US Open for the first time in her career. She managed to exact some revenge by beating Petra Martić in round one however she lost to Petra Kvitová
in the second round. Baltacha competed in four more tournaments that year, reaching the second round of the Hansol Korea Open
and a $100,000 ITF in Torhout but losing in the qualifying rounds of the Toray Pan Pacific Open
and the Kremlin Cup
. She had also been selected to represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Games
but chose not to participate due to the poor sanitation in the athletes’ village which, as a result of her chronic liver problem, may have left her susceptible to picking up infections. Her year-end singles ranking was world No.54.
lost to Roberta Vinci
6–3, 6–4 in the second round. Baltacha then entered the 2011 Australian Open
without having to qualify. In the first round, she defeated American qualifier Jamie Hampton
3–6, 6–4, 7–5. In the second round, however, she was defeated by Former World No.1 and 2004 Australian Open Champion Justine Henin 6–1, 6–3.
Her next tournament was the 2011 PTT Pattaya Open
in Thailand., where she lost to 6th seed Peng Shuai
who defeated her in the next round 2–6, 6–1, 6–4.
Baltacha lost in the first round of the 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships
to Alexandra Dulgheru
7–6(3), 6–4. She then lost in the second round of qualifying at the 2011 Qatar Ladies Open
to Klára Zakopalová 6–1, 6–2.
In the first round of the 2011 BNP Paribas Open
at Indian Wells, Baltacha saved 4 match points at 2–6, 4–5 in the first round against Roberta Vinci
, finally winning 2–6, 7–5, 6–2. In the second round she was defeated by 12th seed Flavia Pennetta
.
In the first round of the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open
in Miami, Baltacha defeated Sybille Bammer
3–6, 7–6, 7–6. However was defeated in the second round by Klára Zakopalová, the 32nd seed, 7–6, 6–3.
After direct acceptance into the main draw of the 2011 French Open
, she defeated American qualifier Sloane Stephens
7–5, 6–2. Due to the previous win by fellow Briton Heather Watson
, it is the first time since 1992 that two British women have cleared the first round of the French Open. In the second round, Baltacha drew another American Vania King
, who defeated her 4–6 6–1 6–4. On the 12 June Baltacha won her first tournament of the season winning the 2011 AEGON Nottingham Challenge
with out dropping a single set throughout the tournament defeating Petra Cetkovská
7–5, 6–3.
An improvement on the previous years disappointment, she reached the second round of Wimbledon, after a victory over Mona Barthel
. She failed to progress, however, after losing 4–6, 6–2, 7–5 to the twentieth seed, Shuai Peng of China. She went on to enter the qualifying draw of the 2011 Cincinnati Open
, but despite being seeded 10th, she lost in the first round against Olga Govortsova
. She then went on to the inaugural Texas Tennis Open
. She managed first and second round wins over Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová and third seed Julia Görges
respectively, before a quarter-final loss to Aravane Rezaï
.
Her next tournament was the US Open
, where in the First round Baltacha beat American wildcard Jamie Hampton
2–6, 6–2, 5–1r. Hampton had to retire unexpectedly due to cramp and dehydration as she collapsed on the base line. Worried Officials and medical staff attended to her with even baltacha tending to her help. She lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova
in the second round.
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. Qualifying matches and Walkovers are neither official match wins nor losses. This table is current through the start of the 2011 US Open
, which begins 29 August 2011.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player of Ukrainian background. Being a four-time winner of the AEGON Award
AEGON Awards
The Aegon British Tennis Awards are a set of monthly awards that are presented to current tennis players, who represent Great Britain and are deemed to have made the best performance, and/or contribution to British tennis.They were first awarded for January 2009...
, she is also the long standing British number 1, a position she has held intermittently since 2002. As of 24 November 2011 she holds a current world ranking of No. 50. Her career high ranking of World No. 49 was achieved on 13 September 2010.
Over the course of her career she has won ten ITF
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
singles titles (five $25,000, one $50,000, two $75,000 and two $100,000) and four ITF doubles titles (all $25,000). She has also twice been a runner-up in ITF events in singles and four times in doubles.
In 2010, Baltacha had victories over top 10 players, including two victories over Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
and one against Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
, who at the time was the reigning French Open champion. In 2011, Baltacha won her most highest ranked tournament of the ITF tour winning the 2011 AEGON Nottingham Challenge
2011 AEGON Nottingham Challenge
The 2011 AEGON Nottingham Challenge was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was part of the 2011 ATP Challenger Tour and the 2011 ITF Women's Circuit...
.
Personal life
Baltacha was born in KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. She comes from a sporting family: her father Sergei
Sergei Pavlovich Baltacha
Sergei Pavlovich Baltacha is a former professional football player who won 45 full caps for the Soviet Union and made nearly 300 appearances for Dynamo Kiev....
is a former professional footballer, representing the USSR and playing in the United Kingdom with Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
, St Johnstone and Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club are a Scottish football club from Inverness who compete in the Scottish Premier League. They are currently managed by Terry Butcher and assistant manager Maurice Malpas...
, and her mother Olga represented the USSR in both the pentathlon
Pentathlon
A pentathlon is a contest featuring five different events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente and -athlon . The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games...
and heptathlon
Heptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:...
at the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. Her brother Sergei
Sergei Baltacha Jr.
Sergei Baltacha is a Scottish-Ukrainian former footballer.-Career:He first played football in the Dynamo Kiev academy, but began his professional career in Scotland, at St. Mirren, where he gained 3 caps for the Scotland U-21 side...
played football for Scottish Football League
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
team St Mirren
St. Mirren F.C.
St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...
of Paisley
Paisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
and for Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
.
After arriving at Heathrow Airport on 13 January 1989, Baltacha moved to Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
where her father was to play football for the next year before moving to Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
where she grew up and spent her teenage years. At the age of 19 she was diagnosed with the liver condition primary sclerosing cholangitis
Primary sclerosing cholangitis
Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a chronic liver disease caused by progressive inflammation and scarring of the bile ducts of the liver. The inflammation impedes the flow of bile to the gut, which can ultimately lead to liver cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer...
and in June 2010 she became patron of the Children's Liver Disease Foundation
Children's Liver Disease Foundation
Children's Liver Disease Foundation is a UK charity whose purpose is fighting childhood liver disease and raising awareness of childhood liver disease amongst the general public....
.
Currently living in Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, England, she trains at Culford School
Culford School
Culford School is a coeducational HMC and IAPS public school for pupils age 3–18. Founded in 1881, it is situated in Culford, four miles north of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England.-History:...
near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
and Ipswich Sports Club, where she is coached by Nino Severino, a multi-sports specialist in mental and movement training who has also worked with Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
and in coaching martial arts athletes. Baltacha can also call on LTA's Head Coach of Women's Tennis Nigel Sears and LTA Coach Simon Walsh.
Junior (1997–2001)
Baltacha played her first match on the ITF junior circuit in February 1997 and her last at the 2001 US Open junior tournament. She never won a title but reached the final of two junior tournaments, at the 14th Bahia Junior Cup and at the LTA International Junior Tournament, Bisham Abbey. She also reached the semifinals of three tournaments and the quarterfinals of six others. In 2001 she reached the semifinals of the Wimbledon juniors championships where she was beaten by eventual champion, Angelique WidjajaAngelique Widjaja
Angelique Widjaja is a retired Chinese Indonesian professional tennis player. She won the Junior Championships at Wimbledon in 2001, defeating Dinara Safina. She reached a peak of No.55 in the Women's Tennis Association singles rankings in March 2003, and a peak of No.15 in the doubles rankings...
. Over the course of her career as a junior, she gained wins over players such as Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
, Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko is an Argentine female tennis player, who will, as of 4 July 2011, be ranked World No. 51 in singles and No. 4 in doubles. Although she enjoyed a modest success in singles, reaching No. 26 on November 21, 2005, and winning four WTA Tour titles, her speciality has been doubles, where...
(twice) and Anne Keothavong
Anne Keothavong
Anne Viensouk Keothavong is a British professional tennis player. She is a former long-standing British number 1, however she is the current British number 2, behind Elena Baltacha and is ranked 71st in the world...
. Her career-high singles ranking was World No. 77 and her final singles win-loss record was 40–40. Aside from junior ITF events, she also competed in the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2000
2000 Commonwealth Youth Games
The 2000 Commonwealth Youth Games were held in August 2000, in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh.-Sports:The following sports were included in the 2000 games:*Athletics at 2000 Commonwealth Youth Games*Fencing at the 2000 Commonwealth Youth Games...
representing Scotland and won a silver medal alongside Karen Paterson
Karen Paterson
Karen Paterson is a Scottish ex-professional tennis player who was active between the years 1998 and 2007. She won a total of 2 ITF singles titles and 5 ITF doubles titles, reaching a career-high ranking of world no. 369 in singles and world no. 220 as a doubles player...
and Mhairi Brown in the women's team event.
As a doubles competitor, Baltacha won four tournaments and lost in the final of four more. She also lost in the semifinal stages of tournaments four times and the quarterfinals eight times. Her final doubles win-loss record was 37–30 and her career-high doubles ranking was World No. 60.
1997–2000
In November 19971997 WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association . The WTA Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III and Tier IV events...
, Baltacha made her debut on the ITF circuit in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
where she was beaten in the first round of the qualifying stages in three sets by Danica Kovakova. She did however reach the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament.
She played only three adult ITF tournaments in 1998
1998 WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association . The WTA Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III and Tier IV events...
(Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Southsea
Southsea
Southsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern end of Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire in England. Southsea is within a mile of Portsmouth's city centre....
and Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, all $10,000 events) and lost in the qualifying stages for each of them.
1999
1999 WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association . The WTA Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III and Tier IV events...
saw her first ITF main draw appearances. She competed in four tournaments in total and reached the quarterfinals of the $10,000 tournament in Glasgow.
In April 2000
2000 WTA Tour
The 2000 Sanex WTA Tour was the 28th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 3, 2000, and concluded on November 13, 2000, after 58 events. For this season, a new event was added: the State Farm Classic in Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S...
, Baltacha reached the quarterfinals of the $10,000 tournament in Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
as a qualifier. She was given a wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
into the qualifying draw of her home Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
, The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
where Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and...
beat her in three sets. In October she received another wild card, this one into the Swisscom Challenge
Zurich Open
The Zurich Open was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, formerly held every winter in Zurich, Switzerland. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 1993 until 2007. In its final year, 2008, it was downgraded to a Tier II event.The Open was held at...
, a tier I tournament held in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
. The very next week she was a quarterfinalist at the $50,000 ITF tournament in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. Her season ending singles ranking was World No. 397.
2001
Baltacha reached the quarterfinals of her first tournament of the year in January, a $10,000 ITF tournament in JerseyJersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
when she was forced to retire early in the second set. She was out of action until late April when she reached the quarterfinals of the $10,000 tournament in Hatfield
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
. Two weeks later she reached the quarterfinals of the $25,000 tournament in Edinburgh as a qualifier. She followed this up with a run to the semifinals of the $25,000 event in Surbiton
Surbiton
Surbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates...
. She was then given a wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
into the qualifying draw for the tier II
WTA Tier II Events
The WTA Tier II tournaments were Women's Tennis Association tennis second-level tournaments held from 1988 until 2008 season. The line-up of events varied over the years, with tournaments being promoted, demoted or cancelled...
event in Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, the Britannic Asset Management International Championships where she beat Frenchwoman, Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano , is a French professional tennis player and the current French No. 4. Razzano, who was born in Dijon, has won two WTA singles titles, both in 2007 in Guangzhou and Tokyo. Razzano reached her career high ranking of World No. 16 on September 14, 2009. As of May 2011, she is ranked...
, in the final round of qualifying to reach the main draw. Conchita Martínez
Conchita Martínez
Inmaculada Concepción Martínez Bernat is a former professional tennis player from Monzón, Aragón, Spain. She is the only Spanish woman to have won the singles title at Wimbledon, when she beat Martina Navrátilová in the 1994 Women's Singles. She also was the singles runner-up at the 1998...
beat her in the first round. Just a week later she was given a wild card into the main draw of Wimbledon
2001 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Venus Williams was the defending champion, and she successfully defended her title, defeating Justine Henin in the final, 6–1, 3–6, 6–0.This tournament saw a second first round loss for World No. 1 Martina Hingis, who previously fell in the first round in 1999. This time she fell to World No...
to give her the first appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
. She was beaten by Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy is a French former professional tour tennis player.Dechy is a three-time doubles Grand Slam champion, winning the 2006 US Open women's doubles title with Vera Zvonareva, the 2007 French Open mixed doubles title with Andy Ram, and the 2007 US Open women's doubles title with Dinara...
in round one. Following Wimbledon she reached yet another ITF quarterfinal; this one in a $25,000 tournament in Felixstowe
Felixstowe
Felixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The town gives its name to the nearby Port of Felixstowe, which is the largest container port in the United Kingdom and is owned by Hutchinson Ports UK...
. She lost in round one of the qualifying tournament for the US Open in August and competed in four more ITF tournaments, reaching the quarterfinals of two of them (both $25,000). She ended the year with a singles ranking of World No. 248.
2002
In February, Baltacha reached the quarterfinals of the $25,000 ITF tournament in SuttonSutton, London
Sutton is a large suburban town in southwest London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Sutton. It is located south-southwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. The town was connected to central London by...
. She played for Great Britain
Great Britain Fed Cup team
The Great Britain Fed Cup team represents the United Kingdom in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Lawn Tennis Association. They currently compete in the Europe/Africa Zone of Group I.-History:...
in the Fed Cup
2002 Fed Cup
The 2002 Fed Cup was the 40th edition of the most important competition between national teams in women's tennis. The World Group was revamped once again, this time as a 16-team knockout tournament, much like the Davis Cup format. 83 nations participated in the tournament...
in April and won her singles rubber against Norway's, Annette Aksdal. She then beat Lina Stančiūtė
Lina Stanciute
Lina Stančiūtė is a Lithuanian professional tennis player, who achieved her highest ranking on September 28, 2009 .-External links:...
from Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
in the relegation play offs in three sets. Following this she attempted to qualify for the tier III
WTA Tier III Events
The WTA Tier III tournaments were Women's Tennis Association tennis third-level tournaments held from 1988 to 2008. The line-up of events varied over the years due to tournaments being promoted, demoted or cancelled...
, Croatian Bol Ladies Open
Croatian Bol Ladies Open
Croatian Bol Ladies Open was the annual women's tennis tournament on the WTA Tour, on the Croatian island of Brač, in the small town of Bol. The tournament was held in late April in 1991, and from 1995 until 2003, when it was replaced by Western & Southern Women's Open on the WTA Tour.-Singles:-...
where she was beaten in round one of the qualifying draw. This was the first of a string of five consecutive losses, the last of which was in the first round of the qualifying draw for the DFS Classic, a tier III event. She broke this string of losses with a win over Alina Jidkova
Alina Jidkova
Alina Vladimirovna Jidkova , soubriquet Alinka, is a former Women's Tennis Association tennis player....
in round one of the qualifying draw for the tier II
WTA Tier II Events
The WTA Tier II tournaments were Women's Tennis Association tennis second-level tournaments held from 1988 until 2008 season. The line-up of events varied over the years, with tournaments being promoted, demoted or cancelled...
, Britannic Asset Management International Championships. She was beaten by Elena Likhovtseva
Elena Likhovtseva
Elena Alexandrovna Likhovtseva is a Russian tennis player, currently inactive. She turned professional in January 1992 at the age of 16.Likhovtseva's career best appearance in a Grand Slam was when she reached the semi finals of the French Open 2005 before she was defeated by Mary Pierce, 6–1 6–1...
in the second round of qualifying. She was then given a wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
into the main draw of Wimbledon
2002 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams 7-6 6-3 in the final to win the Ladies' Singles title at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships.See also:-Seeds:...
where she beat María Vento-Kabchi
Maria Vento-Kabchi
María Alejandra Vento-Kabchi is a professional female tennis player from Venezuela. On July 19, 2004 she reached her career-high singles ranking: World No...
in the first round and Amanda Coetzer
Amanda Coetzer
Amanda Coetzer is a former professional tennis player from South Africa.Coetzer turned professional in 1988 and retired in 2004...
in the second round before losing to Elena Likhovtseva (for the second time in two consecutive tournaments) in the third round.
Her next tournament after Wimbledon was the $25,000 ITF event in Felixstowe which she won by beating Irishwoman, Kelly Liggan
Kelly Liggan
Kelly Liggan is an Irish professional tennis player.Liggan resides in Malaga, Spain, but plays tennis for Ireland...
, in the final to give her the first ITF singles title of her career. Two weeks later she won her second title in Pamplona
Pamplona
Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
, again $25,000, when she defeated Virginie Pichet in the final. After this she attempted to qualify for the US Open but lost in the first round of the qualifying tournament for the second consecutive year. She played two more $25,000 ITF tournaments after the US Open, Glasgow and Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, where she reached the semifinals and quarterfinals respectively. Her season ending ranking for 2002 was World No. 157.
2003
Baltacha's 20032003 WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association . The WTA Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III, Tier IV and Tier V events...
season started slowly; she lost in round one of the qualifying tournament for the first Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
of the year, the Australian Open
2003 Australian Open - Women's Singles
Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams 7–6 3–6 6–4 in the final to win the Women's Singles title at the 2003 Australian Open.See also:-Seeds:# Serena Williams # Venus Williams # Jennifer Capriati ...
. In April she was again part of the Great Britain Fed Cup team but lost her only match against Hungary's Petra Mandula
Petra Mandula
Petra Mandula is a Hungarian tennis player, who represented her native country at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. There she was eliminated in the first round by Amanda Coetzer of South Africa...
. She spent May failing to qualify for the tier III tournament
WTA Tier III Events
The WTA Tier III tournaments were Women's Tennis Association tennis third-level tournaments held from 1988 to 2008. The line-up of events varied over the years due to tournaments being promoted, demoted or cancelled...
, the Internationaux de Strasbourg
Internationaux de Strasbourg
The Internationaux de Strasbourg is a tennis tournament held in Strasbourg, France. Held since 1987, this WTA Tour event is an International-level tournament played on outdoor clay courts....
and the second Grand Slam of the year, the French Open
2003 French Open - Women's Singles
Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated Kim Clijsters 6-0, 6-4 in the final to win the Women's Singles title at the 2003 French Open-Seeds:The seeded players are listed below...
. In June she was given a wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
into the main draw of the DFS Classic but was forced to retire during her first round match verses fellow Brit, Jane O'Donoghue, after the first game of the final set. She was then awarded another wild card; this one into the qualifying draw of the tier II
WTA Tier II Events
The WTA Tier II tournaments were Women's Tennis Association tennis second-level tournaments held from 1988 until 2008 season. The line-up of events varied over the years, with tournaments being promoted, demoted or cancelled...
Hastings Direct International where she was beaten by Virginie Razzano. For the third year running, she received a wild card into the main draw of Wimbledon
2003 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams 4-6 6-4 6-2 in the final to win the Ladies' Singles title at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships.See also:-Seeds:...
where she forced the former world No. 5, Jelena Dokić
Jelena Dokic
Jelena Dokić is an Australian female professional tennis player.During the height of her career, she played for Serbia and Montenegro and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 4 on 19 August 2002. After several family-related difficulties , she slowly slipped down the rankings in 2006...
, to fight for her eventual three-set victory. This was Baltacha's final match of the year as she underwent invasive surgery after Wimbledon (to determine the cause of her persistent liver troubles) which put her out of action until 2004. As a result, her year-end singles ranking fell to World No. 373.
2004
Baltacha returned to action with a vengeance in January 20042004 WTA Tour
The 2004 WTA Tour was the 32nd season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2004, and concluded on November 13, 2004, after 60 events....
by reaching the semifinals of her first two ITF tournaments of the year. These were the $10,000 event in Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
and the $25,000 event in Sunderland. She played in the Fed Cup
2004 Fed Cup
The 2004 Fed Cup was the 42nd edition of the most important competition between national teams in women's tennis. 77 nations participated in the tournament...
for the Great Britain Fed Cup team where she won her two singles rubbers against Turkey
Turkey Fed Cup team
The Turkey Fed Cup team represents Turkey in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Turkiye Tenis Federasyonu. They currently compete in the Europe/Africa Zone of Group III.-History:...
and Romania
Romania Fed Cup team
The Romania Fed Cup team represents Romania in Fed Cup tennis competition, being governed by the Federaţia Română de Tenis and currently competes in the Europe/Africa Zone of Group I.-History:...
by beating Cigdem Duru and Monica Niculescu
Monica Niculescu
Monica Niculescu is a Romanian tennis player. As of October 24, 2011 she is ranked No. 29 at the WTA Tour Singles Ranking. Her highest WTA ranking is currently her present ranking in singles, reached on 24 Oct 2011, and No. 24 in doubles, reached on June 7, 2010.Niculescu was born in Slatina,...
respectively. She also beat Irishwoman, Yvonne Doyle, in the Europe/Africa Group II play-offs. In June, Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
beat her in the first round of the DFS Classic and Cara Black
Cara Black
Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...
beat her in the final round of the qualifying tournament for the Hastings Direct International one week later. Baltacha then headed to Wimbledon
2006 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Results of the Ladies' Singles at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships.-Schedule:-Seeds:# Amélie Mauresmo # Kim Clijsters # Justine Henin-Hardenne # Maria Sharapova ...
main draw courtesy of another wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
. She demolished World No. 61, Marta Marrero
Marta Marrero
Marta Marrero Marrero is a former professional Spanish tennis player. She reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, won two WTA doubles titles, and also won a total of 12 ITF singles and doubles titles. Her highest singles rank on the WTA Tour was World Number 47, which she reached in 2004...
in round one before falling to three-time Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
champion, Jennifer Capriati
Jennifer Capriati
Jennifer Marie Capriati is a former world number one ranked professional tennis player, and the winner of three women's singles championships in Grand Slam tournaments. Capriati made her professional debut in 1990 at the age of 14 when she reached the finals of the hard court tournament in Boca...
in the second round.
Between Wimbledon and the US Open
2004 US Open - Women's Singles
Justine Henin-Hardenne was the defending champion, but she was eliminated in the fourth round by Nadia Petrova.Svetlana Kuznetsova was the title, defeating compatriot Elena Dementieva in the final. She became the third Russian woman, after Anastasia Myskina and Maria Sharapova , to win a Grand Slam...
qualifying tournament (where she reached the second round before being beaten by Angelique Widjaja), she suffered three consecutive first-round losses in $50,000 ITF tournaments in the United States. After the US Open she reached the final of a $25,000 ITF event in Jersey where she was beaten by Emma Laine
Emma Laine
Emma Johanna Laine is a professional tennis player from Finland.The left-handed Laine turned professional in 2004. Her highest career singles ranking has been World No. 50 on August 7, 2006....
. She spent the remainder of her year competing on the ITF circuit and her year-end singles ranking rose to World No. 202.
2005
In the 2005 Australian Open2005 Australian Open - Women's Singles
Defending champion Justine Henin was not competing, and thus did not defend her title. Instead, seventh-seeded Serena Williams of the United States defeated top-seeded Lindsay Davenport, also of the United States, 2–6, 6–3, 6–0, to win the Women's Singles title at the 2005 Australian...
qualifying tournament she won three matches in straight sets to successfully qualify; she beat Els Callens
Els Callens
Els Callens was a professional female tennis player from Belgium. She became a pro in January 1990.Her biggest achievement came in 2000 during the Summer Olympics in Sydney where she won the bronze medal in doubles, partnering Dominique Van Roost-Monami.She retired on Wednesday 26 October 2005...
, Jaslyn Hewitt and Teryn Ashley in rounds one, two and three respectively. In the first round of the main draw she beat Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30...
who later remarked that the Brit was "on fire" and that "if [Elena] plays like today, she can beat anyone. Some of the shots she was hitting were unbelievable." She continued her winning streak with another three-set victory in round two, this one over Frenchwoman, Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro
Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro
Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro is a former French female professional tennis player.Her highest singles ranking was #61, achieved on October 5, 2003...
. Unfortunately for Baltacha, she ran out of steam in the third round, losing to No.15 seed, Silvia Farina Elia
Silvia Farina Elia
Silvia Farina Elia is a former female tennis player from Italy. She reached a career high of World No. 11 on 20 May 2002. She won her first ITF title at Caltagirone in 1991 and her first WTA tournament at Strasbourg in 2001...
. She used her momentum from her good performance in the first Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
of the year to carry her to the semifinals of her next tournament, a $25,000 ITF event in Sunderland where she lost to Sofia Arvidsson
Sofia Arvidsson
Lena Sofia Alexandra Arvidsson is a Swedish tennis player. As of May 9, 2011, she is ranked World No. 77. Her highest career ranking is World No. 29.-Biography:...
. She then immediately reached the finals of another $25,000 ITF event (this one in Redbridge
Redbridge, London
Redbridge is a district of Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge in north-east London. It is home to Redbridge Institute of Adult Education and Redbridge Football Club.-Etymology:...
) before being beaten by Nika Ožegović
Nika Ožegovic
Nika Ožegović is a professional tennis player from Croatia. In her career she won eight ITF tournaments, five in singles and three in doubles. Her career high on WTA rankings is No. 131, on July 9, 2007 in singles; and No. 193, on October 9, 2006 in doubles.-Singles finals 11 :-Doubles finals 4...
. She again played for Great Britain in the Fed Cup
2005 Fed Cup
The 2005 Fed Cup was the 43rd edition of the most important competition between national teams in women's tennis. 76 nations participated in the tournament...
. She lost her singles rubber against Ana Timotić
Ana Timotic
Ana Timotić is a professional Serbian tennis player, who is, as of 21 September 2009, ranked No. 668. Timotić has won eight ITF singles and two ITF doubles titles, and has also made 19 appearances for Serbia Fed Cup team, previously Serbia and Montenegro, scoring 3–6 in singles and 6–4 in...
from Serbia
Serbia Fed Cup team
The Serbian Fed Cup team represents Serbia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Serbia Tennis Federation. They currently compete in the World Group.-Current team:-Before 1992:...
, won her singles rubber verses Karina-Ildor Jacobsgaard and was demolished in her third singles rubber against Katarina Srebotnik in retribution for her first round Australian Open exit. In the Europe/Africa Group I play-off, Baltacha was defeated by Ukrainian
Ukraine Fed Cup team
The Ukraine Fed Cup team represents Ukraine in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Ukrainian Tennis Federation. They currently compete in the 2010 Fed Cup World Group.- History :Ukraine competed in its first Fed Cup in 1993...
, Alona Bondarenko.
She then failed to qualify for two consecutive tier I events before losing in the first round of qualifying for the French Open
2005 French Open - Women's Singles
Anastasia Myskina was the defending champion, but lost in the first round to Maria Sánchez Lorenzo. Justine Henin-Hardenne claimed the title, defeating home player Mary Pierce in the final, 6–1, 6–1...
when she lost to Elise Tamaëla
Elise Tamaëla
Elise Tamaëla is a professional Dutch tennis player playing in the ITF Women's Circuit. On February 17, 2007, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 129. On April 9, 2007, she reached her highest WTA doubles ranking of 228. She is coached by Stephan Ehritt.-External links:...
. In June, three consecutive wild cards
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
granted her entry into the main draws of the DFS Classic, the Hastings Direct International and Wimbledon
2005 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but she was defeated by Venus Williams in the semifinals.Williams won the title, defeating compatriot and World No...
where she was beaten by Milagros Sequera
Milagros Sequera
Milagros Sequera is a professional female tennis player from San Felipe, Yaracuy, Venezuela. She joined the WTA Tour in 1999 and was ranked World No...
in the second round (having beaten Alona Bondarenko in the first), Conchita Martínez in round one and Sabine Klaschka
Sabine Klaschka
Sabine Klaschka is a former professional German tennis player.At the 2005 Wimbledon Championships she beat British number one Elena Baltacha in the first round, only to go out in round 2 to sixth seed Elena Dementieva....
in the first round respectively. Following Wimbledon, Baltacha traveled to the ITF circuit in the United States without much success; she won only one of five matches she played in the run-up to the US Open qualifying draw where she also lost in the first round of qualifying. She then returned to the ITF circuit and reached the quarterfinals of the $25,000 event in Glasgow, the semifinals of the $25,000 event in Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
and won the $25,000 tournament in Jersey. Her year-end singles ranking for the 2005 season was World No. 122.
2006
For Baltacha, 2006 was a year much shortened by injury. Her first tournament of the year was the qualifying event for the Australian Open2006 Australian Open - Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the third round to Daniela Hantuchová.Amélie Mauresmo, the third seed, ultimately won the tournament, her first major championship. Her finals opponent, eighth-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne, retired down 2–0 in the second set, already down a...
where she lost to Yuan Meng
Yuan Meng
Yuan Meng is a Chinese female professional tennis player. She is China's fifth-highest ranked women's singles player after Zheng Jie, Li Na, Peng Shuai, and Yan Zi. Yuan has won four ITF singles titles and one ITF doubles title....
at the second stage of qualifying. In February she played one $25,000 ITF
2006 ITF Women's Circuit
The ITF Women's Circuit is the second tier tour for women's professional tennis organised by the International Tennis Federation, and is the tier below the WTA Tour...
event (where she lost to Melanie South
Melanie South
Melanie Jayne South is an English tennis player. She is currently the British number 7 and ranked 310 in the world...
in the first round) and attempted to qualify for three consecutive tier II tournaments
WTA Tier II Events
The WTA Tier II tournaments were Women's Tennis Association tennis second-level tournaments held from 1988 until 2008 season. The line-up of events varied over the years, with tournaments being promoted, demoted or cancelled...
: Antwerp
Proximus Diamond Games
The Proximus Diamond Games was a professional tennis tournament held in Antwerp, Belgium. Held since 2002, the tournament takes place in the Sportpaleis, and was played at the beginning of February...
, Dubai
2006 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2006 Dubai Duty Free Men’s Championships and Dubai Duty Free Women’s Championships was the 14th edition of this tennis tournament and was played on outdoor hard courts. The tournament was part of the International Series Gold of the 2007 ATP Tour and the Tier II series of the 2007 WTA Tour...
(beaten in final round by Kateryna Bondarenko
Kateryna Bondarenko
Kateryna Volodymyrivna Bondarenko is a professional female tennis player from Ukraine and a doubles champion at Australian Open 2008.The younger sister of professional tennis players Valeria and Alona Bondarenko, she was born in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. She was...
) and Qatar
Qatar Total Open
The Qatar Ladies Open , known as the Qatar Total Open for sponsorship reasons, is tennis tournament held in Doha, Qatar. Held since 2001, this WTA Tour event was a Tier I-tournament in 2008, and was played on outdoor hardcourts. Total S.A. was the main tournament sponsor...
. This was then followed by two first round losses in $25,000 ITF tournaments and a run to the semifinals of another. In May she again represented Great Britain in the Fed Cup
2006 Fed Cup
The 2006 Fed Cup was the 44th edition of the most important competition between national teams in women's tennis. A total of 76 nations participated in the tournament...
and again won all three of her singles matches. She beat: Hungarian
Hungary Fed Cup team
The Hungary Fed Cup team represents Hungary in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Magyar Tenisz Szovetseg. They currently compete in the Europe/Africa Zone of Group I.-History:Hungary competed in its first Fed Cup in 1963...
, Kyra Nagy, Bulgaria's
Bulgaria Fed Cup team
The Bulgaria Fed Cup team represents Bulgaria in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Bulgarian Tennis Federation. They currently compete in the Group II of the Europe/Africa Zone after losing the relegation play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in February 2009.-History:Bulgaria...
Dimana Krastevitch and Valeria Bondarenko
Valeria Bondarenko
Valeria Volodymyrivna Bondarenko is a Ukrainian tennis player, the older sister of tennis players Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko.- External links :* at the Women's Tennis Association...
from Ukraine. In the Europe/Africa play-off however, she lost to Slovakia's
Slovakia Fed Cup team
The Slovakia Fed Cup team represents Slovakia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Slovak Tennis Association. They currently compete in the World Group II.-History:Slovakia competed in its first Fed Cup in 1994...
, Magdaléna Rybáriková
Magdaléna Rybáriková
Magdaléna Rybáriková is a Slovak professional tennis player. On June 22, 2009, she achieved her career-high WTA singles ranking of 40th.-Biography:...
. After the Fed Cup, Elena played only one more tournament in 2006. This tournament was the French Open
2006 French Open - Women's Singles
Justine Henin-Hardenne was the defending champion, and she defended her title by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, 6–4, 6–4.-Schedule:-Seeds:# Amélie Mauresmo # Kim Clijsters # Nadia Petrova ...
where she lost in round one of qualifying to Yevgenia Savransky. She underwent keyhole surgery on a prolapsed disc on the 7th June and spent the rest of the season out-of-action recovering and as a result, her season-ending ranking was World No. 347.
2007
By the time Baltacha returned to action in March 20072007 WTA Tour
The 2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 35th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 1, 2007, and concluded on November 11, 2007 after 61 events. Two new events were added to the schedule for the 2007 season: the Barcelona KIA and Gastein Ladies. It also...
after surgery on a prolapsed disc, her singles ranking had fallen to 660 in the world and as such, she had to qualify for her first $25,000 ITF
2007 ITF Women's Circuit
The ITF Women's Circuit is the second tier tour for women's professional tennis organised by the International Tennis Federation, and is the tier below the WTA Tour...
tournament of the year in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria commonly known as Las Palmas is the political capital, jointly with Santa Cruz, the most populous city in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the ninth largest city in Spain, with a population of 383,308 in 2010. Nearly half of the people of the island...
. She successfully qualified before losing to Sorana Cîrstea
Sorana Cîrstea
Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea, is a Romanian tennis player. Her career high rank was World No. 23, achieved on 17 August 2009, after she reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 French Open and the semifinals of the 2009 Los Angeles Open.- Playing style :...
in the first round. She competed in two more $25,000 events in March (reaching the quarterfinals of one) before heading to Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
to compete in the Fed Cup
2007 Fed Cup
The 2007 Fed Cup is the 45th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in women's tennis. 74 nations participated in the tournament...
for Britain. She played two singles matches (winning one) and four doubles matches (winning two). Following this she reached two consecutive $25,000 ITF semifinals in Incheon
Incheon
The Incheon Metropolitan City is located in northwestern South Korea. The city was home to just 4,700 people when Jemulpo port was built in 1883. Today 2.76 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan Metropolitan City...
and Gimcheon
Gimcheon
Gimcheon is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is situated on the major land transportation routes between Seoul and Busan, namely the Gyeongbu Expressway and Gyeongbu Line railway.-Administrative divisions:...
, one as a qualifier and the other as a lucky loser
Lucky loser (tennis)
A lucky loser is a sports player who loses a match in the final qualifying round of a knockout tournament, but who then enters the main draw when another player withdraws after the tournament has started because of illness or injury. The lucky loser then enters the main draw, normally in place of...
. She consolidated these results with a run to the quarterfinals of another $25,000 in Changwon
Changwon
Changwon is a city in and the capital of Gyeongsangnam-do in South Korea. Changwon city is 8th most populous city in South Korea, with a 2010 established population of 1,089,039. It encompasses a land area of on southeastern of South Korea. The population of Southeastern part of Korea, that...
. In June she received a wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
into the main draw of the DFS Classic
2007 DFS Classic
The 2007 DFS Classic was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham in the United Kingdom that was part of Tier III of the 2007 WTA Tour...
where she showed "fighting spirit" in her first round loss to Milagros Sequera. She then received a wild card into the qualifying draw for the Hastings Direct International
2007 Hastings Direct International Championships - Singles
Justine Henin was the defending champion and won in the final 7–5, 6–7 , 7–6 against Amélie Mauresmo.-Seeds:...
and proved she deserved it by dropping only nine games in the three matches she won to successfully qualify. She then went on to beat the British No. 1, Anne Keothavong, in round one of the main draw in a tense three set match and join fellow Britons, Melanie South and Katie O'Brien
Katie O'Brien
Katie Jill O'Brien is an English former professional tennis player from Beverley, Yorkshire. She was briefly the British No. 1 tennis player...
in the second round, making this the first year since 1991 that three British women reached the second round. She could not quite match up to World No. 14, Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová is a retired Czech tennis player.Vaidišová was an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist and also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Vaidišová started playing tennis when she was six years old, enrolling to train at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton,...
, in the second round though and was beaten in straight sets. She then received another wild card into the main draw of Wimbledon
2007 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Amélie Mauresmo was the defending champion but was knocked out in the fourth round by Nicole Vaidišová.23rd seed Venus Williams defeated Marion Bartoli in the final, 6–4, 6–1...
but wasn't able to overcome the 19th seed, Katarina Srebotnik.
After Wimbledon, Baltacha headed to the United States to compete again on the ITF circuit where she reached the quarterfinals of the $50,000 event in Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
. After being beaten in the first round of qualifying for the US Open by Evgeniya Rodina
Evgeniya Rodina
Evgeniya Sergeyevna Rodina is a Russian professional tennis player. She achieved her career-high ranking of #74 on February 28, 2011.-Career summary:Rodina has made strong progress up through the world rankings to reach a career high of World No...
, Baltacha headed to Japan to attempt to qualify for the Japan Open. She beat María Emilia Salerni
María Emilia Salerni
María Emilia Salerni , known as Pitu Salerni, was an Argentine professional tennis player from the city of Rafaela, province of Santa Fe....
, Agnes Szatmari
Agnes Szatmari
Agnes Szatmari is a professional Romanian tennis player. On March 24, 2008, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 187. She is coached by Portik Endre.-ITF Circuit finals:-Singles finals: 8 :-Doubles finals: 27 :...
and Natalie Grandin
Natalie Grandin
Natalie Grandin is a professional tennis player from South Africa. Grandin has yet to compete outside of the qualifying rounds of a Grand Slam singles event. She is known for her variety of play, and volleying ability....
to qualify and then continued winning by defeating Yan Zi
Yan Zi
Yan Zi is a Chinese women's tennis player.Yan Zi may also refer to:* Stefanie Sun , also known as Sun Yan Zi, Singaporean singer** Yan Zi , Sun's self-titled album...
in the first round. She was defeated by No. 5 seed and eventual champion, Virginie Razzano, in round two. This was followed by an unsuccessful attempt to qualify for a tier III
WTA Tier III Events
The WTA Tier III tournaments were Women's Tennis Association tennis third-level tournaments held from 1988 to 2008. The line-up of events varied over the years due to tournaments being promoted, demoted or cancelled...
event in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
and then a return to the ITF circuit where she reached the semifinals in Makinohara and the quarterfinals in Hamanako (both $25,000), losing both times to Japan's, Seiko Okamoto. Her final singles ranking of 2007 was World No. 187.
2008
Baltacha began her 20082008 WTA Tour
The 2008 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 36th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on December 31, 2007, and concluded on November 9, 2008 after 59 events.The season was characterised by its frequent changes in the No...
season by qualifying for the ASB Classic
2008 ASB Classic - Singles
Jelena Janković was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.Lindsay Davenport won in the final 6–2, 6–2, against Aravane Rezaï.-Seeds:# Vera Zvonareva # Maria Kirilenko...
, beating compatriot, Melanie South, along the way. She faced two-time ASB Classic champion and No. 7 seed, Eleni Danilidou, in the opening round and was beaten. She then progressed to round two of the qualifying tournament for the Australian Open
2008 Australian Open - Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Jelena Janković.Maria Sharapova won in the final 7–5, 6–3, against Ana Ivanović to win her third Grand Slam title and her first at the Australian Open. She was also the first Russian woman to win this tournament...
when her first round opponent opponent, Virginie Pichet, retired when down one set. She was beaten in the second round of qualifying by Zhang Shuai
Zhang Shuai (tennis)
Zhang Shuai is a Chinese professional female tennis player. , she is the fourth-highest ranked women's singles player from China, at World number 90.-Career Summary:...
. In February she tried to qualify for Doha
2008 Qatar Total Open - Singles
Justine Henin was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.Maria Sharapova won in the final 6–1, 2–6, 6–0, against Vera Zvonareva.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round....
(tier I) and Dubai
2008 Dubai Tennis Championships - Women's Singles
Justine Henin was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Francesca Schiavone.Elena Dementieva won in the final 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, against Svetlana Kuznetsova.-Seeds:The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round....
(tier II
WTA Tier II Events
The WTA Tier II tournaments were Women's Tennis Association tennis second-level tournaments held from 1988 until 2008 season. The line-up of events varied over the years, with tournaments being promoted, demoted or cancelled...
) but was unsuccessful in both. She then returned to action on the ITF circuit
2008 ITF Women's Circuit
The ITF Women's Circuit is the second tier tour for women's professional tennis organised by the International Tennis Federation, and is a tier below the WTA Tour...
and won her next two consecutive tournaments: Jersey ($25,000) and Torhout
Torhout
Torhout is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality only comprises the city of Torhout proper. On January 1, 2008 Torhout had a total population of 19,755...
($75,000). In May she again lost in the first round of the qualifying tournament for the French Open
2008 French Open - Women's Singles
Justine Henin was the defending champion, but retired from the sport on May 14, 2008.Ana Ivanović won in the final 6–4, 6–3, against Dinara Safina. This is Ivanovic's Third Grand Slam Final, Second French Open Final, and her First Grand Slam Singles Title...
and in June she again received a wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
into the main draw of the DFS Classic
2008 DFS Classic - Singles
Jelena Janković was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.Kateryna Bondarenko won in the final 7–6, 3–6, 7–6, against Yanina Wickmayer.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round....
where she was beaten in round one by Ekaterina Makarova
Ekaterina Makarova
Ekaterina Valeryevna Makarova is a professional Russian tennis player. She achieved her career high ranking of number 29 on June 6, 2011.-Career:...
. Another wild card granted her entry into the qualifying rounds of the International Women's Open
2008 International Women's Open - Singles
Justine Henin was the defending champion, but retired from the sport on May 14, 2008.Agnieszka Radwańska won in the final 6–4, 6–7, 6–4, against Nadia Petrova.-Seeds:The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round....
where she won her first match against Naomi Cavaday
Naomi Cavaday
Naomi Kathleen Cavaday is an English former tennis player from Sidcup, Kent. She retired in April 2011 to take up a coaching role with the Lawn Tennis Association. At the time of her retirement she was the British No.6, with a world ranking of No. 231. Her career high ranking was No. 174,...
before retiring at one set down in her second match against Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova is a female Bulgarian tennis player. She was born and lives in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Pironkova is right-handed and plays with a two-handed backhand....
. She then played in the main draw of Wimbledon
2008 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Venus Williams was the defending champion, and won in the final 7–5, 6–4, against her sister Serena Williams.-Seeds:# Ana Ivanović # Jelena Janković # Maria Sharapova ...
(again courtesy of a wild card) where she beat Angelique Kerber
Angelique Kerber
Angelique Kerber is a professional German tennis player of Polish descent, who has considered representing Poland. She began playing tennis aged five. Kerber has a career high ranking of World No. 30 achieved on 3 October 2011...
in the first round. She was defeated in the second round by China's eventual semifinalist, Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie is a Chinese professional tennis player. Her career high ranking is World No. 15 which she achieved on May 18, 2009. As of August 15, 2011, Zheng is ranked World No. 65 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles....
in straight sets.
Baltacha then lost three consecutive matches before defeating Anna Korzeniak
Anna Korzeniak
Anna Maria Korzeniak is a Polish professional tennis player who has reached a career high of No. 182 She is actual Polish Tennis Champion. She has won 9 ITF tournaments.- Personal life :...
and Carly Gullickson
Carly Gullickson
Carly Gullickson is an American professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA singles ranking is No. 123, which she reached on July 20, 2009. Her career high doubles ranking is No. 52, set at April 3, 2006. She is the daughter of former major league baseball player Bill Gullickson, and the...
in the first two rounds of qualifying for the US Open. She fell just short of reaching the main draw when she lost to Julie Coin
Julie Coin
Julie Coin is a professional French tennis player. Coin recorded the largest victory of her career by defeating the world's #1 ranked female singles player, and #1 seed, Ana Ivanović at the 2008 US Open. Her career high singles ranking is World No. 60, achieved on 27 July 2009. Her career high...
in the final round of qualifying. She played seven more higher-level ITF tournaments over the rest of the year and reached the quarterfinals in one of them: the $50,000 event in Ismaning
Ismaning
Ismaning is a municipality in Bavaria, Germany, located near Munich. In 2006 it had 14,638 inhabitants. Near Ismaning there is a large broadcasting facility called Transmitter Ismaning....
where she lost to Julia Görges
Julia Görges
Julia Görges is a professional tennis player from Germany. Görges reached career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 16 on 6 June 2011 and a doubles ranking of 31 on 6 June 2011...
. Her year-end ranking was World No. 136.
2009
Baltacha began 20092009 WTA Tour
The 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 37th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2009, and concluded on November 8, 2009 after 56 events....
by falling in the first round of qualifying for the ASB Classic
2009 ASB Classic - Singles
Lindsay Davenport was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year due to her pregnancy.Elena Dementieva won in the final 6–4, 6–1, against Elena Vesnina.-Seeds:# Elena Dementieva # Caroline Wozniacki ...
before winning three matches to successfully qualify for the Australian Open
2009 Australian Open - Women's Singles
Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but chose not to participate this year, due to a shoulder injury.Serena Williams won in the final 6–0, 6–3, against Dinara Safina.-Seeds:# Jelena Janković ...
. She joined compatriots, Katie O'Brien (also a qualifier), Anne Keothavong and Melanie South in the main draw; the first time that four British women had competed in the main draw of a Grand Slam other than Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
since the 1992 U.S. Open. Baltacha came up against German, Anna-Lena Grönefeld
Anna-Lena Grönefeld
Anna-Lena Grönefeld is a professional tennis player from Germany. She turned professional in April 2003.As of September 2011, Grönefeld is the No. 12 tennis player from Germany. She was coached and trained by Rafael Font de Mora in Scottsdale, Arizona until 2006...
, in the first round and defeated her comfortably to set up a clash with former World No. 1, Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
. Despite surprising many by taking the first set, Baltacha eventually lost in three sets.
February saw Baltacha represent her country in the Fed Cup
2009 Fed Cup
The 2009 Fed Cup was the 47th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in women's tennis...
where she won all three of her singles rubbers in straight sets. In April, Baltacha was the top seed in the $75,000 ITF
2009 ITF Women's Circuit
The ITF Women's Circuit is the second tier tour for women's professional tennis organised by the International Tennis Federation, and is a tier below the WTA Tour. The ITF Women's Circuit includes tournaments with prize money ranging from $10,000 up to...
tournament in Monzón
Monzón
Monzón is a small town in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It has a population of 17,050. It is located in the northeast and adjoins the rivers Cinca and Sosa.-Historical overview:...
where she reached the quarterfinals before losing to former world No. 4, Kimiko Date Krumm in a close three-set match. Later that month she reached the final of a $25,000 ITF where she faced the No. 6 seed, Junri Namigata
Junri Namigata
Junri Namigata is a Japanese professional tennis player. Her career high WTA singles ranking is 105, which she reached on February 28, 2011. Her career high doubles ranking is 109, set on April 14, 2008. U- Singles 12 :- Doubles 22 :...
, and won to give her the sixth ITF singles title of her career. In May she reached the semifinals of a $50,000 ITF in Fukuoka
Fukuoka
Fukuoka most often refers to the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture.It can also refer to:-Locations:* Fukuoka, Gifu, a town in Gifu Prefecture, Japan* Fukuoka, Toyama, a town in Toyama Prefecture, Japan...
before going on to reach the final round of qualifying for the French Open, where she lost to Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Vyacheslavovna Shvedova is a Kazakhstani professional tennis player of Russian descent. She has achieved a career high ranking of No. 29 as of 21 June 2010. She has won 1 WTA singles title, 3 ITF Women's Circuit singles titles and 3 doubles titles, including the 2010 Wimbledon and US...
. Between the French Open and Wimbledon, she reached the semifinals of another $50,000 ITF and reached the second round of the International WTA tournament
WTA International tournaments
The International Tournaments is the new category for tennis tournaments of Women's Tennis Association from the 2009 WTA Tour. Tournaments are replacing Tier III and Tier IV events...
, the AEGON Classic
2009 AEGON Classic - Singles
Kateryna Bondarenko was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Zheng Jie # Kaia Kanepi # Aleksandra Wozniak ...
. She beat Georgie Stoop
Georgie Stoop
Georgina "Georgie" Gent is an English, AEGON Award winning professional tennis player coached by Damien Roberts. She is currently the British no. 10 and ranked at no. 299 in the world . She has won two ITF singles titles, two ITF doubles titles and reached a career-high singles ranking of world no...
in the first round before falling in an epic three-set battle with the then World No. 27, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Sergeyevna Pavlyuchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player and a multiple junior Grand Slam champion. Her career-high rank of World No. 13 was achieved on 4 July 2011. From July 2007 to September 2009 she was coached at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France...
. She received a wild card into the main draw of Wimbledon in June where she came up against World No. 33, Alona Bondarenko, in the first round. Baltacha managed to come back from a set down to win in three sets. She then went on to lose to Kirsten Flipkens
Kirsten Flipkens
Kirsten Flipkens is a professional female Belgian tennis player since 2003. Her career high rank for singles is No. 59 . She won 10 ITF Singles titles, and 1 ITF Doubles title....
in round two.
This was followed by three consecutive losses in the first round of qualifying for WTA events before Baltacha won two matches to qualify for the Rogers Cup
2009 Rogers Cup - Singles
Dinara Safina was the defending champion, but lost in the second round to Aravane Rezaï.Elena Dementieva won in the final, 6–4, 6–3, against Maria Sharapova.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round....
, a Premier tournament
WTA Premier tournaments
Premier Tournaments is a category of tennis tournaments in the Women's Tennis Association tour.Premier events include:*Four "Premier Mandatory" events in Indian Wells, Key Biscayne, Madrid, and Beijing with prize money of $4.5 million....
. She faced former World No. 1, Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
, in the second tournament of her comeback and lost to the Belgian in straight sets. Following this, she reached the final round of qualifying for the US Open
2009 US Open - Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Kim Clijsters.Clijsters won in the final, defeating Caroline Wozniacki to win her 2nd US Open title...
before going on to win the $75,000 ITF in Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
. She beat fellow Brit, Katie O'Brien, in the final. This result was enough to put both finalists into the top 100 for the first time in each of their careers. After this, Baltacha reached the semifinals of one more $50,000 ITF, the second round of a $100,000 ITF (where she had to withdraw due to food poisoning) and the quarterfinals of a $75,000 ITF tournament. These showings helped her accumulate enough points to catapult her back to the British number 1 spot. Her year-end ranking was World No. 87.
2010
Baltacha began her 20102010 WTA Tour
The Women's Tennis Association Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the WTA. The 2010 WTA Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments , the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup , and the year-end...
season by winning three matches to successfully qualify for the ASB Classic
2010 ASB Classic
The 2010 ASB Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 25th edition of the ASB Classic, and was part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
in Auckland, New Zealand. In the first round of the main draw she was beaten by Ioana Raluca Olaru
Ioana Raluca Olaru
Ioana Raluca Olaru is a Romanian tennis player. As of 2 August 2010, she is ranked World No. 158 in singles and No. 104 in doubles. The winner of nine singles and six doubles ITF Circuit titles, Olaru reached one WTA Tour singles final, at the 2009 Gastein Ladies, losing to Andrea Petkovic 6–2, 6–3...
in straight sets. She then went on to win another three matches to qualify for the Moorilla Hobart International
2010 Moorilla Hobart International
The 2010 Moorilla Hobart International was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 17th edition of the event and is part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
before again losing in the first round, this time to resurgent former world number 4, Jelena Dokić. Her next tournament was the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open
2010 Australian Open
The 2010 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 18 to 31 January. It was the 98th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year....
. For the first time in her career she was able to gain direct entry into the main draw of the tournament due to her improved ranking. She defeated Frenchwoman, Pauline Parmentier
Pauline Parmentier
Pauline Parmentier is a professional tennis player from France. Her career high was #40, achieved on 21 July 2008 and her highest ranking in doubles was World Number 146 on 15 June 2009.-Background:...
, in the first round. As Baltacha’s compatriot, Katie O’Brien, also reached the second round, 2010 marked the first time since 1991 that more than one British woman had reached the second round of the Australian Open. In round two Elena defeated the 30th seed from Ukraine, Kateryna Bondarenko but she was beaten in the round of 32 by Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
, the World Number Two. In the doubles tournament she partnered Liga Dekmeijere
Liga Dekmeijere
Līga Dekmeijere is a professional tennis player from Latvia who has won nineteen International Tennis Federation doubles titles and one Women's Tennis Association doubles title. Dekmeijere has been as high as World Number 54 in the overall women's doubles rankings, a ranking that she achieved on...
to reach the second round. In February, Baltacha participated in the Fed Cup
2010 Fed Cup
The 2010 Fed Cup was the 48th edition of the tournament between national teams in women's tennis. The final took place on 6–7 November in San Diego, United States. Italy successfully defended their title, in a rematch of the 2009 final against the United States...
where the British team was competing in the Europe/Africa Zone
2010 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone
The Europe/Africa Zone is one of three zones of regional competition in the 2010 Fed Cup.-Group I:*Venue: Complexo de Tenis do Jamor, Estadio National, Lisbon, Portugal *Date: Week of 1 February...
. She played two singles matches, losing against Sybille Bammer
Sybille Bammer
Sybille Bammer is a former professional female tennis player from Austria. Her career high ranking is No. 19, achieved on 17 December 2007....
and defeating Sandra Martinovic from the Austria team
Austria Fed Cup team
The Austria Fed Cup team represents Austria in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Osterreichischer Tennisverband. They currently compete in the World Group II.-History:...
and the Bosnia and Herzegovina team
Bosnia and Herzegovina Fed Cup team
The Bosnia and Herzegovina Fed Cup team represents Bosnia and Herzegovina in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Tennis Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They currently compete in the Europe/Africa Zone of Group I.-History:...
respectively. She also partnered Sarah Borwell
Sarah Borwell
Sarah Leah Borwell is an English professional tennis player who specialises primarily in doubles. She is currently the British number 1 in doubles, ranked 67 in the world...
in two doubles matches, winning both. Following this performance in the Fed Cup, Elena competed in a $100,000 American ITF tournament in Midland
Midland, Michigan
Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan in the Tri-Cities region of the state. It is the county seat of Midland County. The city's population was 41,863 as of the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Midland Micropolitan Statistical Area....
where she reached the final and defeated Lucie Hradecká
Lucie Hradecká
Lucie Hradecká is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. In her career, Hradecká has won ten WTA doubles titles. This total includes the 2011 French Open, in which she won her first Grand Slam title.-Career:...
to win the biggest title of her career. Baltacha then went on to compete in the Cellular South Cup as the 8th seed. She reached the quarterfinals before losing to the top seed and eventual champion, Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
. March saw Baltacha qualify for the BNP Paribas Open
2010 BNP Paribas Open
The 2010 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2010. It was the 36th edition of the event, known this year as the BNP Paribas Open, and is classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on...
. After defeating Alexa Glatch
Alexa Glatch
-Junior career:She started playing tennis at the age of five. As a junior player, she won the prestigious Easter Bowl title in the Girls 14s and Girls 18s divisions and the Orange Bowl in the Girls 16s division in 2004. She achieved a World Junior Ranking of #5 in 2005, advancing to the 2005 US...
in the first round, she faced world No.10, Li Na, in round two and went on to win the match. This gave Elena the first victory of her career over a player ranked in the top-10. Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik is a Australian professional female tennis player. She reached a career high singles rank of number 8 and also won a bronze medal for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Molik also reached a career high doubles ranking of number 6, and won two grand slam doubles titles, at the...
defeated Baltacha in the third round. In her only other tournament during March, Baltacha had to win two matches to qualify for the Sony Ericsson Open
2010 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2010 Sony Ericsson Open , was a tennis tournament for men and women held from March 22 to April 4, 2010. It was the 26th edition of the Miami Masters event and is played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, located near Miami...
before going on to lose to Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer is a Belgian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world no. 22 and is the second-highest ranked female Belgian tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of world no. 12 on 19 April 2010...
in the second round of the main tournament. After this, she went on to reach the quarterfinals of a $100,000 ITF tournament in Johannesberg before beginning her clay court season with a loss to Gréta Arn
Gréta Arn
Gréta Arn is a professional tennis player from Hungary, and the current Hungarian No. 1. Arn turned professional in 1997....
in the first round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 67th edition of the event and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2010 WTA Tour...
, a WTA Premier 5 event
WTA Premier tournaments
Premier Tournaments is a category of tennis tournaments in the Women's Tennis Association tour.Premier events include:*Four "Premier Mandatory" events in Indian Wells, Key Biscayne, Madrid, and Beijing with prize money of $4.5 million....
. In her final event before the French Open
2010 French Open
The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 109th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
, Bally participated in the Internationaux de Strasbourg
2010 Internationaux de Strasbourg
The 2010 Internationaux de Strasbourg was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay court. It was the 24th edition of the Internationaux de Strasbourg, and was part of the International-level tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
as the 8th seed but was forced to retire in the second round due to a back injury. In her first round match at the French Open, she was beaten by Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
in straight sets.
Her grass court season then began and the AEGON Trophy
AEGON Trophy
The AEGON Trophy is an yearly tennis tournament played in Nottingham, England. The tournament is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour, and of the International Tennis Federation Women's Circuit as a 50k event. The tournament's key sponor is Dutch insurance...
, a $50,000 ITF event in Nottingham, gave Baltacha the second title of the year. She didn’t drop a set throughout the tournament, including in the final when she faced Carly Gullickson. Baltacha stayed on grass for her next tournament, the AEGON Classic
2010 AEGON Classic
The 2010 AEGON Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 29th edition of the event. It took place at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, from June 7 through June 13, 2010.-Seeds:...
, where she was the No.12 seed. She was forced to retire after losing the first set in her first round match against Kaia Kanepi
Kaia Kanepi
Kaia Kanepi is an Estonian professional tennis player. Her career-high ranking is world no. 16 reached on 14 February 2011....
. Her next event was the AEGON International
2010 AEGON International
The 2010 AEGON International was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 35th edition of the event for the women and the 2nd edition for the men. It was classified as a WTA Premier tournament on the 2010 WTA Tour and as an ATP World Tour 250 series...
where during her first round match with Li Na, the Chinese player had to retire with a leg injury after winning the first set on a tie-break. After a second-round win over another Chinese player, Zheng Jie, she lost to Sam Stosur in three sets in the quarterfinals. Nevertheless, this was the first time since 1983 that a British woman had progressed to the quarterfinals of this tournament. Baltacha then suffered a disappointing first round loss at Wimbledon
2010 Wimbledon Championships
The 2010 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from Monday 21 June until Sunday 4 July 2010. It was the 124th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand...
. She lost in three sets to Petra Martić
Petra Martic
Petra Martić is a professional tennis player from Croatia. Her career high ranking is #47, achieved on September 26th 2011.-Early Career: 2006–2009:...
after leading by a set and 5–2.
In the lead up to the US Open
2010 US Open (tennis)
The 2010 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts, held from August 30 to September 13, 2010 in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City, United States....
, Baltacha played in the Istanbul Cup
2010 İstanbul Cup
The 2010 İstanbul Cup was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 6th edition of the İstanbul Cup, and was part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
, where she reached the quarterfinals. Along the way she defeated world No.8 and reigning French Open champion, Francesca Schiavone, in straight sets to give her the best win of her career. She was beaten by Andrea Petković
Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is a professional German tennis player of Serbian origin. She is the highest ranked German tennis player. She lives in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany....
in the quarterfinals. Baltacha then lost four of her next five matches before participating in the main draw of the US Open for the first time in her career. She managed to exact some revenge by beating Petra Martić in round one however she lost to Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
in the second round. Baltacha competed in four more tournaments that year, reaching the second round of the Hansol Korea Open
2010 Hansol Korea Open
The 2010 Hansol Korea Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 7th edition of the Hansol Korea Open, and was part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
and a $100,000 ITF in Torhout but losing in the qualifying rounds of the Toray Pan Pacific Open
2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 27th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2010 WTA Tour...
and the Kremlin Cup
2010 Kremlin Cup
The 2010 Kremlin Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 21st edition of the Kremlin Cup, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2010 WTA Tour...
. She had also been selected to represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Games
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events, making it the largest Commonwealth Games till date...
but chose not to participate due to the poor sanitation in the athletes’ village which, as a result of her chronic liver problem, may have left her susceptible to picking up infections. Her year-end singles ranking was world No.54.
2011
Baltacha began the year at the 2011 Moorilla Hobart International2011 Moorilla Hobart International
The 2011 Moorilla Hobart International was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 18th edition of the event and was part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
lost to Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci is an Italian tennis player. As of 29 August 2011, Vinci is ranked World No. 20, on the WTA Tour Rankings. Vinci has won thirteen WTA Tour titles, six in singles and seven in doubles....
6–3, 6–4 in the second round. Baltacha then entered the 2011 Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
without having to qualify. In the first round, she defeated American qualifier Jamie Hampton
Jamie Hampton
Jamie Lee Hampton is a professional American tennis player playing in the ITF Women's Circuit. On April 4, 2011, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of World No. 116. Hampton lived in Enterprise, Alabama until she was 13, when she moved to Auburn, Alabama...
3–6, 6–4, 7–5. In the second round, however, she was defeated by Former World No.1 and 2004 Australian Open Champion Justine Henin 6–1, 6–3.
Her next tournament was the 2011 PTT Pattaya Open
2011 PTT Pattaya Open
The 2011 PTT Pattaya Open was a women's professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 21st edition of the PTT Pattaya Open and was part of the International category on the 2011 WTA Tour...
in Thailand., where she lost to 6th seed Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai is a Chinese professional female tennis player. She won a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games, defeating Akgul Amanmuradova in the final...
who defeated her in the next round 2–6, 6–1, 6–4.
Baltacha lost in the first round of the 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships
2011 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships was a 500 Series event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour. The tournament was known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons...
to Alexandra Dulgheru
Alexandra Dulgheru
Alexandra Dulgheru is a Romanian professional tennis player. She achieved a singles career high of World No. 26 on April 11, 2011. Her career high in doubles was World No. 47 on March 21, 2011.She is coached by Gabriel Urpi.-Biography:...
7–6(3), 6–4. She then lost in the second round of qualifying at the 2011 Qatar Ladies Open
2011 Qatar Ladies Open
The 2011 Qatar Ladies Open was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the ninth edition of the tournament and the first since 2008 which was part of the 2011 WTA Tour...
to Klára Zakopalová 6–1, 6–2.
In the first round of the 2011 BNP Paribas Open
2011 BNP Paribas Open
The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 36th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011...
at Indian Wells, Baltacha saved 4 match points at 2–6, 4–5 in the first round against Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci is an Italian tennis player. As of 29 August 2011, Vinci is ranked World No. 20, on the WTA Tour Rankings. Vinci has won thirteen WTA Tour titles, six in singles and seven in doubles....
, finally winning 2–6, 7–5, 6–2. In the second round she was defeated by 12th seed Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and...
.
In the first round of the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open
2011 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open , a men's and women's tennis tournament, was held from March 21 to April 3, 2011. It was the 27th edition of the Miami Masters event and played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami...
in Miami, Baltacha defeated Sybille Bammer
Sybille Bammer
Sybille Bammer is a former professional female tennis player from Austria. Her career high ranking is No. 19, achieved on 17 December 2007....
3–6, 7–6, 7–6. However was defeated in the second round by Klára Zakopalová, the 32nd seed, 7–6, 6–3.
After direct acceptance into the main draw of the 2011 French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
, she defeated American qualifier Sloane Stephens
Sloane Stephens
-Personal life:Stephens was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Sybil Smith and John Stephens, a professional American football player...
7–5, 6–2. Due to the previous win by fellow Briton Heather Watson
Heather Watson
Heather Miriam Watson is a British female tennis player. Born in Guernsey, she trains and resides at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida, USA. Watson has won one major title at the 2009 US Open Juniors, two senior ITF titles and won gold at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games. She has...
, it is the first time since 1992 that two British women have cleared the first round of the French Open. In the second round, Baltacha drew another American Vania King
Vania King
Vania King is a Taiwanese American female tennis player. King won both the 2010 Wimbledon Women's Doubles and 2010 US Open Women's Doubles titles with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova....
, who defeated her 4–6 6–1 6–4. On the 12 June Baltacha won her first tournament of the season winning the 2011 AEGON Nottingham Challenge
2011 AEGON Nottingham Challenge
The 2011 AEGON Nottingham Challenge was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was part of the 2011 ATP Challenger Tour and the 2011 ITF Women's Circuit...
with out dropping a single set throughout the tournament defeating Petra Cetkovská
Petra Cetkovská
Petra Cetkovská is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic and is of ethnic Macedonian origin. She reached her career high singles ranking No.30 on 24 October 2011.-Career:...
7–5, 6–3.
An improvement on the previous years disappointment, she reached the second round of Wimbledon, after a victory over Mona Barthel
Mona Barthel
Mona Barthel is a German professional tennis player. She has won four ITF singles titles and one ITF doubles title. Barthel's highest singles ranking of World No. 67 was achieved on 31 October 2011, while her highest doubles ranking of World No...
. She failed to progress, however, after losing 4–6, 6–2, 7–5 to the twentieth seed, Shuai Peng of China. She went on to enter the qualifying draw of the 2011 Cincinnati Open
2011 Western & Southern Open – Women's Singles Qualifying
This article shows the Qualifying Draw for the 2011 Western & Southern Open. -Seeds:# María José Martínez Sánchez '# Petra Cetkovská # Ksenia Pervak ...
, but despite being seeded 10th, she lost in the first round against Olga Govortsova
Olga Govortsova
Olga Govortsova is a professional Belarusian tennis player. As of May 10, 2010 her highest singles ranking on the WTA is World Number 35, which she achieved on June 23, 2008.-Career:...
. She then went on to the inaugural Texas Tennis Open
Texas Tennis Open
The Texas Tennis Open is a future professional tennis tournament for women. After some contradictory statements, WTA has made it a late addition to the 2011 WTA Tour. It will be played at the Hilton Lakes Tennis & Sports Club in Grapevine , Texas in the USA...
. She managed first and second round wins over Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová and third seed Julia Görges
Julia Görges
Julia Görges is a professional tennis player from Germany. Görges reached career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 16 on 6 June 2011 and a doubles ranking of 31 on 6 June 2011...
respectively, before a quarter-final loss to Aravane Rezaï
Aravane Rezaï
Aravane Rezaï is an Iranian-French tennis player born in Saint-Étienne, France to Iranian parents. She is the current French No. 5 in women's tennis. Rezaï took up tennis after a childhood stint as her older brother's ball girl...
.
Her next tournament was the US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
, where in the First round Baltacha beat American wildcard Jamie Hampton
Jamie Hampton
Jamie Lee Hampton is a professional American tennis player playing in the ITF Women's Circuit. On April 4, 2011, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of World No. 116. Hampton lived in Enterprise, Alabama until she was 13, when she moved to Auburn, Alabama...
2–6, 6–2, 5–1r. Hampton had to retire unexpectedly due to cramp and dehydration as she collapsed on the base line. Worried Officials and medical staff attended to her with even baltacha tending to her help. She lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
in the second round.
Singles: 13 (10–3)
EWLINE
|
|
| Outcome | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Winner | $25,000 Felixstowe, Great Britain | Grass |  |
4–6, 6–2, 6–3 | |
| Winner | $25,000 Pamplona, Spain | Hard (i) |  Virginie Pichet |
6–2, 6–1 | |
| Runner-up | $25,000 Jersey, Great Britain | Hard (i) |  |
3–6, 2–6, 1–6 | |
| Runner-up | $25,000 Redbridge, Great Britain | Hard (i) |  |
0–6, 3–6 | |
| Winner | $25,000 Jersey, Great Britain | Hard (i) |  Daniela Kix |
4–6, 4–6 | |
| Winner | $25,000 Jersey, Great Britain | Hard (i) | |
6–1, 6–3 | |
| Winner | $75,000 Torhout, Belgium | Hard (i) |  |
6–7(5–7), 6–1, 6–4 | |
| Winner | $25,000 Changwon, Korea | Hard |  |
6–3, 6–1 | |
| Winner | $75,000 Shrewsbury, Great Britain | Hard (i) |  |
6–3, 4–6, 6–3 | |
| Winner | $100,000 Midland, Michigan, United States | Hard (i) | |
5–7, 6–2, 6–3 | |
| Winner | $50,000 Nottingham 2010 AEGON Trophy The 2010 AEGON Trophy was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was part of the 2010 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Nottingham, Great Britain between May 31 and June 6, 2010.-Seeds:*Rankings are as of May 24, 2010.... , Great Britain |
Grass |  |
6–2, 6–2 | |
| Winner | $100,000+H Nottingham AEGON Nottingham Challenge The AEGON Nottingham Challenge is a yearly tennis tournament played in Nottingham, England. The tournament is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour, and of the International Tennis Federation Women's Circuit.... , Great Britain |
Grass | |
7–5, 6–3 | |
| Runner-up | $100,000 Poitiers 2011 Internationaux Féminins de la Vienne – Singles Sofia Arvidsson was the defending champion, but lost in the first round to Mădălina Gojnea.Kimiko Date Krumm won the title defeating Elena Baltacha in the final 7–6, 6–4.-Seeds:# Petra Cetkovská # Lucie Hradecká ... , France |
Hard (i) | Kimiko Date Krumm |
7-6(3) 6-4 | |
Doubles: 8 (4–4)
EWLINE
|
|
| Outcome | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partnering | Opponents in the final | Score in the final |
| Runner-up | $10,000 Hatfield, Great Britain | Clay | Nicola Trinder |
 Natalia Egorova  Ekaterina Sysoeva |
3–6, 6–4, 1–6 | |
| Winner | $25,000 Valladolid, Spain | Hard |  Natacha Randriantefy |
  |
6–2, 6–3 | |
| Winner | $25,000 Pamplona, Spain | Hard (i) | |
Yvonne Doyle  Susanne Trik |
6–7(6–7), 7–6(7–1), 6–3 | |
| Winner | $25,000 Sunderland, Great Britain | Hard (i) | |
 Eva Fislová Stanislava Hrozenská |
6–1, 4–6, 6–2 | |
| Winner | $25,000 Glasgow, Great Britain | Hard (i) |  |
|
6–3, 6–7(2–7), 6–2 | |
| Runner-up | $25,000 Redding, California, United States | Hard | Yevgenia Savransky |
|
7–5, 5–7, 4–6 | |
| Runner-up | $25,000 Surbiton, Great Britain | Grass | |
|
1–6, 4–6 | |
| Runner-up | $25,000 Changwon, Korea | Hard | Amanda Elliott |
 Chen Yi |
4–6, 1–6 |
Singles performance timeline
| NM5 | means an event that is neither a Premier Mandatory nor a Premier 5 tournament. | |||
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. Qualifying matches and Walkovers are neither official match wins nor losses. This table is current through the start of the 2011 US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
, which begins 29 August 2011.
| Tournament | 2000 2000 WTA Tour The 2000 Sanex WTA Tour was the 28th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 3, 2000, and concluded on November 13, 2000, after 58 events. For this season, a new event was added: the State Farm Classic in Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S... | 2001 2001 WTA Tour The WTA Tour is the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association . The WTA Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III, Tier IV and Tier V events... | 2002 2002 WTA Tour The 2002 Sanex WTA Tour was the 30th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on December 31, 2001, and concluded on November 11, 2002, after 64 events.... | 2003 2003 WTA Tour The WTA Tour is the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association . The WTA Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III, Tier IV and Tier V events... | 2004 2004 WTA Tour The 2004 WTA Tour was the 32nd season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2004, and concluded on November 13, 2004, after 60 events.... | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 2007 WTA Tour The 2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 35th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 1, 2007, and concluded on November 11, 2007 after 61 events. Two new events were added to the schedule for the 2007 season: the Barcelona KIA and Gastein Ladies. It also... | 2008 2008 WTA Tour The 2008 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 36th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on December 31, 2007, and concluded on November 9, 2008 after 59 events.The season was characterised by its frequent changes in the No... | 2009 2009 WTA Tour The 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 37th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2009, and concluded on November 8, 2009 after 56 events.... | 2010 2010 WTA Tour The Women's Tennis Association Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the WTA. The 2010 WTA Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments , the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup , and the year-end... | 2011 2011 WTA Tour The WTA Tour is the elite tour for women's professional tennis organized by the Women's Tennis Association . The 2011 WTA Tour includes the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments, the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup , the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, and the WTA... | |Career SR | |Career W-L | |Win % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam Tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court... |
A | A | A | 1R 2003 Australian Open - Women's Singles Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams 7–6 3–6 6–4 in the final to win the Women's Singles title at the 2003 Australian Open.See also:-Seeds:# Serena Williams # Venus Williams # Jennifer Capriati ... |
A | 3R 2005 Australian Open - Women's Singles Defending champion Justine Henin was not competing, and thus did not defend her title. Instead, seventh-seeded Serena Williams of the United States defeated top-seeded Lindsay Davenport, also of the United States, 2–6, 6–3, 6–0, to win the Women's Singles title at the 2005 Australian... |
LQ | A | LQ | 2R 2009 Australian Open - Women's Singles Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but chose not to participate this year, due to a shoulder injury.Serena Williams won in the final 6–0, 6–3, against Dinara Safina.-Seeds:# Jelena Janković ... |
3R | 2R | 0 / 5 | 6–5 | 55% | |||
| French Open | A | A | A | LQ | A | LQ | LQ | A | LQ | LQ | 1R 2010 French Open – Women's Singles Svetlana Kuznetsova was the defending champion, but lost in the third round to Maria Kirilenko.Francesca Schiavone defeated Samantha Stosur 6–4, 7–6 in the final and became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam tournament.-Seeds:... |
2R 2011 French Open – Women's Singles Francesca Schiavone was the defending champion, but lost in the final to Li Na, 6–4, 7–6, making Li the first Asian and Chinese Grand Slam singles champion.-Seeds:# Caroline Wozniacki # Kim Clijsters ... |
0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% | |||
| Wimbledon | LQ | 1R 2001 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Venus Williams was the defending champion, and she successfully defended her title, defeating Justine Henin in the final, 6–1, 3–6, 6–0.This tournament saw a second first round loss for World No. 1 Martina Hingis, who previously fell in the first round in 1999. This time she fell to World No... |
3R 2002 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams 7-6 6-3 in the final to win the Ladies' Singles title at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships.See also:-Seeds:... |
1R 2003 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams 4-6 6-4 6-2 in the final to win the Ladies' Singles title at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships.See also:-Seeds:... |
2R 2004 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Serena Williams was the two-time defending champion, but she was defeated by 17-year-old Maria Sharapova in the final, 6–1, 6–4. This victory was hailed by the media as "the most stunning upset in memory". With this win, Sharapova, who would later became a future World No. 1, entered the Top Ten... |
1R 2005 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but she was defeated by Venus Williams in the semifinals.Williams won the title, defeating compatriot and World No... |
A | 1R 2007 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Amélie Mauresmo was the defending champion but was knocked out in the fourth round by Nicole Vaidišová.23rd seed Venus Williams defeated Marion Bartoli in the final, 6–4, 6–1... |
2R 2008 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Venus Williams was the defending champion, and won in the final 7–5, 6–4, against her sister Serena Williams.-Seeds:# Ana Ivanović # Jelena Janković # Maria Sharapova ... |
2R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 10 | 6–10 | 38% | |||
| US Open | A | LQ | LQ | A | LQ | LQ | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | 2R | 2R | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% | |||
| Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–4 | 4–4 | 0 / 19 | 15–19 | 44% | |||
| Olympic Games | ||||||||||||||||||
| Summer Olympics Tennis at the Summer Olympics Tennis was part of the Summer Olympic Games program from the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics, but was dropped after the 1924 Summer Olympics... |
A | Not Held | A | Not Held | A | Not Held | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | 0% | |||||||||
| Year-End Championship | ||||||||||||||||||
| WTA Tour Championships WTA Tour Championships The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972... |
A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | 0% | ||||||||||||||
| WTA Premier Mandatory Tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | A | 3R 2010 BNP Paribas Open – Women's Singles Vera Zvonareva was the defending champion, but lost in the fourth round to Samantha Stosur.Jelena Janković won in the final against Caroline Wozniacki, 6–2, 6–4.-Seeds:All seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Svetlana Kuznetsova ... |
2R 2011 BNP Paribas Open – Women's Singles The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 37th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011... |
0 / 2 | 3–2 | 60% | ||||||||||||
| Key Biscayne | A | LQ | A | LQ | 2R | 2R 2011 Sony Ericsson Open – Women's Singles Kim Clijsters was the defending champion, but lost to Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals.Azarenka defeated Maria Sharapova 6–1, 6–4 in the final.-Seeds:All seeds received a bye into the second round.# Caroline Wozniacki ... |
0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% | |||||||||
| Madrid Madrid Masters There are two sporting events named the Madrid Masters:*Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open — a men's and women's tennis tournament*Madrid Masters... |
Not Held | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | 0% | |||||||||||||
| Beijing China Open (tennis) The China Open is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Beijing, China. The men's singles and doubles events were first held in 1993, the year in which the Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships were also introduced to the men's tour, as the ATP opened a series of new tournaments in... |
Not Tier I | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | 0% | |||||||||||||
| WTA Premier 5 Tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dubai Dubai Tennis Championships The Dubai Tennis Championships is a professional tennis tournament owned and organized by Dubai Duty Free and held annually in Dubai, United Arab... |
Not Tier I | A | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | ||||||||||||
| Rome | A | LQ | A | LQ | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | 0% | ||||||||||
| Cincinnati | Not Tier I | LQ | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | 0% | |||||||||||||
| Montréal / Toronto | A | 1R | LQ | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | ||||||||||||
| Tokyo Toray Pan Pacific Open The is a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1984 on in Tokyo, Japan. It is classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament since 1993. The event has traditionally been played on indoor carpet at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, but the 2008 event... |
A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | 0% | ||||||||||||||
| Former WTA Tier I Tournaments (currently neither Premier Mandatory nor Premier 5 events) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Doha Qatar Total Open The Qatar Ladies Open , known as the Qatar Total Open for sponsorship reasons, is tennis tournament held in Doha, Qatar. Held since 2001, this WTA Tour event was a Tier I-tournament in 2008, and was played on outdoor hardcourts. Total S.A. was the main tournament sponsor... |
Not Tier I | LQ | Not Held | NM5 | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | 0% | |||||||||||
| Charleston Family Circle Cup The Family Circle Cup is a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. The tournament is currently played on the green clay courts at the Daniel Island Tennis Center in Charleston, South Carolina, USA... |
A | NM5 | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | 0% | |||||||||||||
| Berlin Qatar Telecom German Open The German Open, sponsored from 2006 through 2008 as the Qatar Telecom German Open, was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women played in Berlin, Germany. Held since 1896, it was one of the oldest tournaments for women... |
A | LQ | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | 0% | ||||||||||||
| Moscow Kremlin Cup The Kremlin Cup is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour and is a Premier Tournament on the WTA Tour... |
A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | 0% | ||||||||||||||
| Zurich Zurich Open The Zurich Open was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, formerly held every winter in Zurich, Switzerland. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 1993 until 2007. In its final year, 2008, it was downgraded to a Tier II event.The Open was held at... |
LQ | A | NT1 | Not Held | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | 0% | |||||||||||
| San Diego | Not Tier I | A | Not Held | NM5 | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | 0% | |||||||||||
| Career Statistics | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tournaments played | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | Career total: 25 | |||||
| Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Career total: 0 | |||||
| Finals Reached | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Career total: 0 | |||||
| Year End Ranking | 397 | 248 | 157 | 373 | 202 | 122 | 347 | 187 | 136 | 87 | 54 | Career money: $866,584 | ||||||