I was really shocked and saddened to hear the news this morning that Elena Baltacha has passed away at the age of 30.  I really admired Bally, both on and off the court.  I loved her motivation, her determination and fight on court, and the passion she had for tennis.  She faced so many obstacles, but got so much out of her tennis career.  It is very touching to see so many of the players pay their respect on social media and fans discussing their favourite Bally memories.  Here are just a few that I came across, which made me smile…

Personally, I only got to watch Elena once in Eastbourne when she played  Li Na in 2010.  Bally ended up progressing via a retirement and despite losing the first set on a tiebreak, her fight in that one set was just terrific.

BBC Sport have posted a nice slideshow of Elena’s career in pictures HERE and a video too HERE (this may be restricted to UK only).

The Rally4Bally exhibition events will take place in Bally’s memory at Queens, Birmingham and Eastbourne on Sunday the 15th of June.

You can donate money to Rally4Bally HERE.  The money is being split between the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and Elena’s academy, EBATS.  It’s lovely to see the figure rising every time I click on the page.

RIP Bally.  My thoughts and prayers are with Elena’s family.