Former British tennis star Baltacha dies aged 30

Former British number one Elena Baltacha has died of liver cancer at the age of 30.Born in Ukraine and brought up in Scotland, Baltacha revealed she had the illness in March, having being diagnosed in January.

Baltacha, who was British number one for nearly three years, only retired from professional tennis in 2013.

"We are heartbroken beyond words at the loss of our beautiful, talented and determined Bally," said her husband Nino Severino in a statement published by the BBC.

The daughter of Sergei Baltacha, who played professional football for Ipswich Town and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, she was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a chronic liver condition which compromises the immune system, aged 19.

Despite her illness and injury problems, she reached the third round of the Australian Open in 2005 and 2010, and achieved a career-high world ranking of 49.

She won 11 singles titles, made the third round of Wimbledon in 2002 and was a member of Great Britain's Fed Cup team for 11 years.