Baltacha has climbed from 57th to 49th in the women's rankings

Scotland's Elena Baltacha has broken into the top 50 in the women's world tennis rankings.

The 27-year-old British number one has climbed from 57th to 49th following her most successful year on the circuit.

Baltacha qualified automatically for the Australian and US Opens for the first time and won her maiden $100,000 prize at the Michigan Tennis Classic.

"It's unbelievable; it feels special. Now that I'm top 50, you start setting your goals a lot higher," she said.

Following a frustrating injury spell her form improved after appointing Nino Severino as her coach two years ago.

Baltacha, who bowed out of the US Open after a second-round defeat by Petra Kvitova, is seeded for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

The next goal is the top 40 and I think it's very possible if I keep working hard, keep my head down and keep developing Elena Baltacha

And she revealed that her next target is a top 40 place.

"At the beginning of the year my goal was to stay in the top 100, I wasn't even thinking about the top 50 and here we are nine months on and I've broken top 50," she said.

"I spent about 10 years trying to make the top 100 and didn't get anywhere near it, so to do this at the age of 27 feels great.

"With everything that's happened over the years, with injury, illness and everything else, just makes it feel all the more amazing to achieve something like this."

Baltacha added: "Hopefully, my ranking is going to keep going up because I know that there is more left in the tank.

"Obviously, the next goal is the top 40 and I think it's very possible if I keep working hard, keep my head down and keep developing."

The Scot was keen to stress the importance of having a good team behind her.

"I've been through the possibility of retiring quite a few times and one time I really was about a week away from calling it a day," Baltacha added.

"Now when I think back to that and look at where I am now it gives me goosebumps.

"There is no way that I would be sitting at top 50 right now without my coach Nino Severino and all the people that he has bought him to help me, and the LTA."

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