Elena Baltacha was the ‘consummate fighter’

Baltacha represented Team GB at London 2012
Baltacha represented Team GB at London 2012
JAMIE MCDONALD/GETTY IMAGES

Sun-visor pulled low, an armful of rackets, marching purposefully towards the court, eyes on the prize, focus intense, not looking back – an enduring image of Elena Baltacha.

The loss of someone so young is always a terrible shock, to lose someone like ‘Bally’ who took so much in her stride and never submitted to any foe without giving all that she had, is doubly awful. For her family first, of course, the sensation is the most intense, the sense of loss most acute, the tragedy all the more striking but for the family of tennis, especially those on the women’s side, this represents the loss of a colleague, a part of the fabric, a friendly face, and a worthy opponent.

That Baltacha was the