A regular at Wimbledon, she made it to the third round of the tournament in 2002, all of this after being diagnosed with a chronic liver condition at the age of 19.

 

 

The way she overcame adversity and the way that she battled, and she was known as a tremendous fighter on the court obviously, you know, off the court as well. But you know, I think that something in which people, which really resonated with a lot of people, with a lot of tennis fans and a lot of other people involved in this sport as well. And that's why she was a great great role model.

 

 

She discovered she had liver cancer in January just 2 months after retiring from tennis. It was only weeks after she married her coach Nino Severino. He says he's heartbroken beyond words at the loss of her beautiful and talented Bally.

 

 

It was only in March that she revealed she had the illness, shocking the sport world. A charity event was organised for her and prose including Andy Murray and Martina Navratilova who signed up to play at the rally for Bally event next month. Organizers say they'll nail it in her memory. The current British No.1 Laura Robson has paid tribute on Twitter. She wrote: Impossibly sad, forever a teammate, sweet dreams, Bally. The long Tennis Associations say this sport has lost a shining life from the heart of British tennis. They said Elena will be missed as a player and as a friend.