Elena Baltacha announced her retirement at age 30 due to a series of injuries. The Brit reached a career-high No. 49 ranking in 2010, scoring wins over Li Na and Francesca Schiavone.
“It just feels it’s the right time,” Baltacha said in a statement. “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.”
Baltacha was also a committed Fed Cup player, playing in 39 ties from 2003 to 2012.
“Her work ethic and competitive spirit are second to none,” Britain’s Fed Cup captain Judy Murray said. “If we could bottle those qualities, we would have many more top players. She’s the perfect role model for our junior girls.”