Two female Brits have moved up the tennis rankings to break into the top 100 for the first time. Both Elena Baltacha and Katie O’Brien now join Anne Keothavong in the top 100 women in the world.
Both were in action over the weekend at the Aegon Pro Series in Shrewsbury, where Baltacha beat O’Brien 6-3 4-6 6-3 in the final.
Baltacha is now at number 93, a climb of eight places, while O’Brien is at 98. Britain’s number one Anne Keothavong has been injured since July and is not expected to return until February 2010 so will see her 77th position fall.
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Baltacha’s career has been troubled with illess and injuries but her win on the weekend has been a great confidence boost for the Scot.
“I turned up in Shrewsbury thinking first things first, I have to defend my first round points and I’ve ended up doing way, way more than I expected,” she said.
“I feel like I’ve improved so much that now I know what I’m capable of and I know I can be a real danger.
“I’ve won this level of event before but to win one on home soil is fantastic. These are not piddly tournaments, they are very strong.”
O’Brien was also delighted with her ranking, despite her defeat to Baltacha on Saturday. “I can’t be too disappointed as I had a great run through to the final despite not really playing my best tennis,” she said.
“I’m also delighted to have broken into the top 100 because it makes all that hard work worthwhile.
“I know that things will only get tougher from now on, but I’m determined to keep working hard and I want to continue to build on this at my next few tournaments in Japan.”
Louise Hudson, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
