Elena Baltacha ‘would have loved’ impact her foundation is having on tennis

The former British number one died aged just 30 in May 2014 from liver cancer having battled a debilitating liver condition during her whole career.

Baltacha had set up an academy in her home town of Ipswich four years earlier, alongside her coach and future husband Nino Severino, with the aim of helping disadvantaged children in her local area to play tennis.

Now the Elena Baltacha Foundation, which is led by Severino, engages thousands of children each year in its tennis and leadership programmes.

Severino told the PA news agency: “The story is a story of tragedy. I lost the love of my life.

“But we talked a lot about what her vision was and what she wanted. When she was healthy she was going round schools so to see it all materialise at this level is amazing.

“I just wish she was here to experience it. She would have loved it. However long she spent on this earth, it had a real impact.”

On Friday, Severino was at the National Tennis Centre in London at a Come Play presented by Morgan Stanley event in partnership with the Elena Baltacha Foundation and Murray Play Foundation.

The WTA initiative utilises tennis to positively impact communities and encourages young people of all ages and abilities, with a focus on girls, to lead healthy and productive lives on and off the court.

Judy Murray led fun sessions with 60 children from London schools, while former British number ones Heather Watson and Johanna Konta helped out.

Severino is enormously grateful for the support he has received from the tennis community, saying: “Right after I lost Elena, the WTA were there to lift me up and to carry me through a very tough period.

“They’re a global organisation with heart and soul and they’re a big part of what saved me.

“(The foundation) helps me a lot. Every day she’s part of our lives. It keeps me strong, gives me meaning and focus.

“We want as many of the young people as possible to stay involved in tennis. Next year I want it to be a really big year. I want us to go to the next level.”

Also helping out on Friday were two girls who joined Baltacha’s academy before she died and are now playing tennis at college in the United States.

“That would have made Bally unbelievably proud,” said Murray. “Without her foundation, they would never have got into it. What she did in her area was incredibly important.”

Murray first met a young Baltacha – know within tennis by her nickname Bally – through her work as Scotland coach before getting to know her better as an adult as captain of Britain’s Fed Cup team.

“There’s a little core of us coaches, players and ex-players for whom she was such a big part of our tennis lives,” said Murray.

“When I became Fed Cup captain, she was the number one and you could not have asked for a better number one. She was an awesome ambassador for women’s tennis. I was a huge Bally fan. The world would be a much better place if there were more Ballys in it.”

Watson was a junior member of that team and takes pleasure in being able to help out the foundation.

“I just love what it represents,” she said. “I think Nino does an amazing job with it and any time I can get involved with an event like this I always say yes. I love it. This is my way, I feel, of giving back.

“I also love being alongside Judy as she’s such an inspiration and mentor for me and she always does an amazing job. I really hope to keep being involved.

“It’s amazing that Nino’s kept this foundation going in Elena Baltacha’s name. We lost her too soon but it’s so amazing that she’s living on through this brilliant foundation.”