By Sophie Brown

Baltacha has raced back up the world rankings

Of all the British players to step onto the lush courts at the All England Club next week, none will be more excited than Elena Baltacha.

Illness and injury have blighted Baltacha's career since she first made a name for herself as a feisty teenager in 2002 by beating Amanda Coetzer to reach the third round at Wimbledon.

She was immediately touted as the best British prospect since the 1980s but a series of illnesses, including a rare liver infection, forced her out of the game for six months.

The Ukrainian-born player battled back and in 2005 went through qualifying to reach the third round of the Australian Open.

Weeks later she reached a career-high ranking of 118 but was then plagued by a back problem, which caused her to miss most of the 2006 season.

Her ranking had plummeted down to 890 at the start of 2007 but with some solid recent results under her belt, she will be in the top 300 by the time Wimbledon starts.

"I'm so happy that I'm back," said the 23-year-old. "And with everything that's happened, I think I've improved a lot. I'm older and more mature.

"I'm working much harder. My time out of the game has taught me a lot - I know how much I love tennis and I want it more now. I'm more determined.

The grass at Eastbourne plays exactly the same as Wimbledon so it's fantastic preparation Elena Baltacha

"My coaches (Alan Jones and former British number one Jo Durie) and I know there are still a lot of things to work on - I think that's the exciting thing.

"There's more to my potential and if I keep working I can get to the top. But there is still work to do."

Baltacha got some valuable grass-court practice at Eastbourne, going through qualifying to reach the second round of the main draw where she was beaten by fifth seed Nicole Vaidisova.

"The grass plays exactly the same as Wimbledon so it's fantastic preparation," said the Kiev-born Scot.

The current British number 10 says her back has been holding up well since January although she had an epidural injection in March and accepts she may need further pain-killing treatment in the future.

Baltacha is fiercely ambitious and believes the best is yet to come from her game.

Yet not surprisingly, her main focus is staying healthy and injury free.

"For me at the moment, because I've just come back, it's about playing as many matches as I can," said Baltacha, whose father Sergei was a professional footballer for Ipswich and St Johnstone.

"I feel I've had a lot of time off with injury and I just hope I'm going to get a break.