On this day in 2013 – Elena Baltacha announces retirement from tennis
The Kyiv-born Scot died of liver cancer in 2014 at the age of 30
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Former British number one Elena Baltacha announced her retirement from tennis on this day in 2013.
Baltacha was Britain’s top-ranked player for 132 weeks between 2009 and 2012 and reached a career-high ranking of 49 in 2010, but subsequently struggled with injury.
The Kyiv-born Scot died of liver cancer in May 2014 at the age of 30.
A Fed Cup stalwart, Baltacha’s CV also contained wins over top-10 players Li Na and Francesca Schiavone, while her best grand slam performances saw her reach the third round at the Australian Open in 2005 and 2010 and at Wimbledon in 2002.
“It just feels it’s the right time,” Baltacha said when announcing her retirement.
“My body has taken such a bruising over the last 16 years and that’s finally taken its toll.
“I have had some amazing experiences through playing tennis – some incredible highs and some very low lows – and I wouldn’t change any of them, but now my mind and my body are telling me it’s time to move on to a new phase of my life.
“I still absolutely love tennis and I want to take that passion and put it into learning to be the best coach I can be so that I can take all my experiences as a player and use that to help develop the next generation of British tennis players.”