By . Andrew Levy . and Jim Norton . Lady in red: Former British number one Elena Baltacha showing her glamorous side . She never once gave up. From the moment she arrived in a strange country at the age of five to the day she was diagnosed with an illness that would ultimately cut her life short, British tennis star Elena Baltacha fought all the way. The Ukrainian-born but Scottish-raised former British women's number one died on Sunday aged 30, from liver cancer. But a leaf through family photos tells . how much she packed into those three decades – from the anxious-looking . child we see here to the confident, glamorous star who went on to . inspire countless youngsters to take up her chosen sport. Tragically, . she learned she had advanced cancer just two months after retiring from . the sport and weeks after marrying her long-term boyfriend and coach, . Nino Severino in December. She . had bravely vowed to fight her illness 'with everything I have' – . echoing the gritty determination she displayed on court. But it was one . battle she couldn't win. She died peacefully at her home in Ipswich . surrounded by family and friends and with her husband at her side. Miss . Baltacha had been fighting illness for a lot longer than just the past . few months. Aged just 19 she was diagnosed with primary sclerosing . cholangitis, a rare chronic liver condition that affects the immune . system. Not that it stopped . her from shining on the tennis court. Miss Baltacha, who was born in . Kiev in 1983, was five when her professional footballer father Sergei's . career brought him to the UK, playing for teams including Ipswich Town . and St Johnstone. She has described seeing little of her father because of his football and came to rely on her mother, Olga, an Olympic pentathlete, to get her to training and matches. 'It's tough when you travel because it's very lonely; all you see are the tennis courts and hotels and it's so nice to have someone there who really knows you,' said Miss Baltacha, whose brother Sergei also became a footballer. It was in Perth that she started playing seriously and at 15 she became the youngest ever winner of the Scottish women's indoor championship. She came to public attention when she reached the third round of Wimbledon in 2002. New life: Aged five, Elena Baltacha and her brother Sergi. She said she still vividly remembered the day they first set foot on British soil . Celebrating: Aged seven, Elena Baltacha with her brother Sergei, in June 1991 . Brink of stardom: Elena pictured aged 17 in 2001 . Flying the flag: Aged 18, Elena was to be diagnosed with her liver condition a year later . Clearly exhausted when she was knocked out, this led to tests which showed she had PSC. Despite the setbacks, she spent 132 weeks as British number one between 2009 and 2012 and reached a world ranking of 49. Describing her attitude on court, she once said: 'I'm in your face because it's a battle. It's lock horns and see who comes out toughest. But as soon as I'm off the tennis court, I'm just the opposite – chilled, relaxed and not really fazed or bothered by anything.' Her husband said in a statement yesterday: 'We are heartbroken beyond words at the loss of our beautiful, talented and determined Bally. 'She was an amazing person and she touched so many people with her inspirational spirit, her warmth and her kindness.'
Family photos tells .
how much she packed into those three decades .
Aged just 19 she was diagnosed with rare chronic liver condition .
She died peacefully at her home in Ipswich on Sunday .
By . Andrew Levy . and Jim Norton . Lady in red: Former British number one Elena Baltacha showing her glamorous side . She never once gave up. From the moment she arrived in a strange country at the age of five to the day she was diagnosed with an illness that would ultimately cut her life short, British tennis star Elena Baltacha fought all the way. The Ukrainian-born but Scottish-raised former British women's number one died on Sunday aged 30, from liver cancer. But a leaf through family photos tells . how much she packed into those three decades – from the anxious-looking . child we see here to the confident, glamorous star who went on to . inspire countless youngsters to take up her chosen sport. Tragically, . she learned she had advanced cancer just two months after retiring from . the sport and weeks after marrying her long-term boyfriend and coach, . Nino Severino in December. She . had bravely vowed to fight her illness 'with everything I have' – . echoing the gritty determination she displayed on court. But it was one . battle she couldn't win. She died peacefully at her home in Ipswich . surrounded by family and friends and with her husband at her side. Miss . Baltacha had been fighting illness for a lot longer than just the past . few months. Aged just 19 she was diagnosed with primary sclerosing . cholangitis, a rare chronic liver condition that affects the immune . system. Not that it stopped . her from shining on the tennis court. Miss Baltacha, who was born in . Kiev in 1983, was five when her professional footballer father Sergei's . career brought him to the UK, playing for teams including Ipswich Town . and St Johnstone. She has described seeing little of her father because of his football and came to rely on her mother, Olga, an Olympic pentathlete, to get her to training and matches. 'It's tough when you travel because it's very lonely; all you see are the tennis courts and hotels and it's so nice to have someone there who really knows you,' said Miss Baltacha, whose brother Sergei also became a footballer. It was in Perth that she started playing seriously and at 15 she became the youngest ever winner of the Scottish women's indoor championship. She came to public attention when she reached the third round of Wimbledon in 2002. New life: Aged five, Elena Baltacha and her brother Sergi. She said she still vividly remembered the day they first set foot on British soil . Celebrating: Aged seven, Elena Baltacha with her brother Sergei, in June 1991 . Brink of stardom: Elena pictured aged 17 in 2001 . Flying the flag: Aged 18, Elena was to be diagnosed with her liver condition a year later . Clearly exhausted when she was knocked out, this led to tests which showed she had PSC. Despite the setbacks, she spent 132 weeks as British number one between 2009 and 2012 and reached a world ranking of 49. Describing her attitude on court, she once said: 'I'm in your face because it's a battle. It's lock horns and see who comes out toughest. But as soon as I'm off the tennis court, I'm just the opposite – chilled, relaxed and not really fazed or bothered by anything.' Her husband said in a statement yesterday: 'We are heartbroken beyond words at the loss of our beautiful, talented and determined Bally. 'She was an amazing person and she touched so many people with her inspirational spirit, her warmth and her kindness.'
leaf through family photos tells . how much she packed into those three decades – from the peacefully at her home in Ipswich . surrounded by Aged just 19 she was diagnosed with primary sclerosing . cholangitis, a rare chronic liver