The inaugural winner of this year’s Aegon Open Nottingham WTA event will be presented with ‘The Elena Baltacha Trophy’, named in memory of the former British number one.
Baltacha died of liver cancer a year ago at the age of 30, having been diagnosed with the illness in January of that year – just two months after retiring from tennis and only weeks after marrying her long-time coach Nino Severino.
The Perth-raised player won her 11th and final ITF Women’s Circuit title at Nottingham 2013, and the Lawn Tennis Association has marked the one-year anniversary of her death by announcing that a newly-commissioned trophy bearing her name will be awarded to the winner of next month’s WTA tournament in the city.
The trophy is an art nouveau bowl in sterling silver, measuring 24 centimetres tall with a diameter of 26 centimetres.
Severino said: “The loss of our darling Bally is a heartbreak that will never go away. It’s very touching that the British Tennis family is remembering her this way.
“We’re all working together to keep her legacy alive through the Elena Baltacha Academy of Tennis and getting more kids of all backgrounds playing tennis.”
Judy Murray, Great Britain’s Fed Cup captain, added: “This is a wonderful way to remember Bally. She was one of the best competitors I ever saw and had a lot of success at the Nottingham event. I know she would be thrilled with this.”
The Aegon Open Nottingham will see two tournaments take place in June, with the women’s WTA event taking place from 6-14, and the men’s ATP competition being staged from 20-27.