Dr. Baltacha

indiana · Tennis legend

RE: Dr. Baltacha

steven · Tennis legend

Thanks everyone. I've sorted out the formatting problems and rechecked a couple of bits of info that I didn't feel 100% sure about (thankfully they were correct after all), so thought it was good to go. There is now a pdf version too at http://bit.ly/18MjQAD if you prefer to read documents that way.

PaulM wrote:
Steven, perhaps you could link the bios you have done on the stats page? I'm sure people will like to go back and read them from time to time (I was looking for Anne's but couldn't find it without doing a search for the post on the board)

Yet another thing that's on the list for the off-season! OK, there is no off-season but I mean December, when there are next to no Challengers and not many Brits playing elsewhere either.

I want to sort out some formatting problems on the older bios, resolve things like the 'who played most ties' issue (when I did Anne's the FedCup site said she had played 40 and Bally 39, now it says 39 for both of them - I'll get around to counting them manually at some point, probably to find that 39 isn't the correct figure for either of them!) and convert them all into pdfs. After that, I'll try to find a way to make them and some of the other one-offs more easily accessible without cluttering up the stats home page too much more!

indiana · Tennis legend

Looks great, Steven, a fitting tribute.

( not confirming that everything is correct, but nothing that I noticed to be wrong )

Spectator · All-time great

That's lovely, Steven. Thank you (from someone who wouldn't be informed enough to notice a mistake - but was just looking at the overall picture).

Bruce · Lower Club Player

The East Anglian Daily Times have some quotes from Baltacha about her career and future

www.eadt.co.uk/sport/elena_baltacha_refuses_to_ponder_what_ifs_following_retirement_1_3013087

PaulM · Tennis legend

Amazing Steven. These really highlight how much Bally (and Anne) achieved.

PaulM · Tennis legend

Steven, perhaps you could link the bios you have done on the stats page? I'm sure people will like to go back and read them from time to time (I was looking for Anne's but couldn't find it without doing a search for the post on the board)

tony_orient · ATP qualifying

Bally's video statement on the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/24994627

philwrig · Hall of fame

tony_orient wrote:
Bally's video statement on the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/24994627

Seems that a similar problem in her left ankle, was the main catalyst, such a shame, because her form was very good even at the US open after a long break.

TomTraubert · Futures level

it dont add nothing really but bally gets a wta headline peace for her retirement announce
http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/3540981/title/elena-baltacha-announces-retirement

PaulM · Tennis legend

Sorry Steven :p they just are really excellent and it's nice to go back and see, easily and coherently. What they achieved.

Jan · Hall of fame

Thanks for the great piece on Bally, Steven. What a career she had!

Peter too · Tennis legend

Memories of the battle for the GB number one slot and the race for a place in the top 100 and top 50.

Elena was out for nearly a year in 2006/7 and her ranking dropped below 800. When she returned she played several tournaments in the Canaries followed by a punishing schedule of three events in Korea. She had to go through qualifying in all three but still managed one QF and two SFs.

I remember a long debate on the Rusedski web pages in 2007 about when we would next have a woman in the top 100. Those in contention were Elena, Anne, Katie and Mel with Naomi Cavaday and Geogie Stoop (Gent) also moving into contention. Anne and Katie swapped the GB number one slot for most of that year. The general view expressed on the Rusedski site was that it would take at least 10 years for any of the GB girls to reach the top 100. At the time none of the six had won a tournament above the $25K level.

Elena was the first to break the $25K barrier winning a $75K in Belgium straight after winning a $25K in Jersey. If I remember rightly about that time both Anne and Elena changed coaches, Elena's helped her manage her health limitations and Anne's gave her a huge confidence boost. That together with Elena showing that $25K was not a barrier gave Anne the impetus to win two $50Ks in quick succession. The second was in Lebanon while riots were taking place all round her. That took Anne into the top 100 though getting home again did entail a mad dash by car across the Lebanon border. Mel broke into the top 100 in February 2009 and Anne broke into the top 50 in June that year. Katie and Elena reached the final of the Shrewsbury $75K in September 2009 with Elena winning and both Katie and Elena entering the top 100 together.

Katie took the GB number one slot back off Anne in November 2009 only to be overtaken by Elena a couple of weeks later.

Elena finally reached the top 50 in September 2010.

Of those original top 6 players fighting to be the first to reach the top 100 only Mel still remains.

-- Edited by Peter too on Wednesday 20th of November 2013 10:01:24 AM

PaulM · Tennis legend

Such good memories Peter too. The best time for me following British tennis was that spell 08-10 when Anne finally broke into the top 100 and starting really doing well on the WTA Tour (that second knee injury was just so cruel, in my view she was on her way to the top 40 and a solid top 50 career if that hadn't happened. To get back into the top 100 at all was massive, but if she had just managed to squeeze out that second set against Petkovic in Oz in 2011 she'd have had a w/o into round 4 and been right back up there), and we were following Katie and Bally pick up better and better results and move towards the top 100. It was all so new and kind of unexpected! Oz Open when Bally and Katie qualified and we had 4 girls to cheer in the main draw was just brilliant (even if they didn't last long in the main draw!).

If Mel had finished off De Brito at Roland Garros in 2009 as she should have done, her career might have been a little different, but not to be.

If Mel (and Emily) retire, then all that 'generation', the first that I have followed from start to finish career wise, will be gone. Makes me feel old!

steven · Tennis legend

Further to my reply to Paul, there is now a page with links to all four of the bios so far - bit.ly/Ijvz2D (or follow the new "Career Highlights" link from the britishtennis.net home page.

I haven't had a chance to tidy up the earlier bios or create pdf versions of them yet, but someone on Twitter asked for a link to Anne's bio so I gave in and put a page of links up now instead of waiting until the other stuff was done.

I have, however, checked that Fed Cup stat re. Anne and there are 'only' 39 ties (rather than the 40 figure the Fed Cup site showed at the time she retired) in which she has actually played, so perhaps fittingly, she and Bally now share 2nd place in the GB all-time list for ties played.