Former British no 1 Elena Baltacha will begin her 2007 season at the Gran Caneria 25K in Spain which begins on 12th March. It will be the 23 year old's first tournament for 9 months as she underwent keyhole surgery on a prolapsed disc in her back in summer 2006. She will be eligible for a WTA protected ranking.
Baltacha played for Scotland in the Aberdeen Cup in November and had planned to begin 2007 with the British 10Ks and 25Ks. However, she decided to postpone her return to tournament action to make sure that she's fully fit,
Nigel Sears said "Elena's withdrawal from the tournaments in Tipton and Sutton is just a precaution and not a result of a new injury. She's still recovering from the back operation and she doesn't want to play any tournaments when not fully fit in case that causes another problem."
i didnt know you can have a protected ranking outside the top 100 what is her protected ranking anyway? if she got a protected ranking doesnt it affect the British rankings?
I think you can have a protected ranking whatever ranking you are, Vik. Miles Kasiri has a protected ranking in the 800s even though his current ranking is in the 1400s.
I think you can only use it for so many tournaments, does anyone know how many ?
I think Elena's protected ranking will be in the top 200, not sure exactly what it will be
You can only have a protected ranking (only for entry by the way, not for seedings) if you were in the top 300 when you stopped playing. I believe it's 8 tournaments you're allowed to use it for, and you can only use it for a slam if you missed 3 slams in a row (Bally would be able to if she didn't play RG).
jamatthews wrote: You can only have a protected ranking (only for entry by the way, not for seedings) if you were in the top 300 when you stopped playing. I believe it's 8 tournaments you're allowed to use it for, and you can only use it for a slam if you missed 3 slams in a row (Bally would be able to if she didn't play RG).
Thanks for the info Jamatthews Hopefully Bally won't need to use her protected ranking by RG It's a shame that she'll only have a month of tournaments before the clay-court season We all know how much she likes the nasty red stuff
I guess the rules must be different for the mens game otherwise how would Kasiri have a protected ranking in the 800s
what is her protected ranking anyway? if she got a protected ranking doesnt it affect the British rankings?
Hopefully Bally won't need to use her protected ranking by RG 
We all know how much she likes the nasty red stuff 
