Elena Baltacha: Judy Murray tribute to ex-British number one

“She was one in a million,” said Murray. “An absolute gem.”

She added it was “an awful loss” for tennis, those who knew and loved her, but most of all for her husband Nino Severino and her family.

Murray added further: “I don’t have the words to say what an incredible person Bally was, how loved she was or what an inspiration she will continue to be to everyone who met her.”

Andy and Jamie Murray were among a group of current and former players who paid tribute to Baltacha with a minute’s silence at the Madrid Masters on Monday.

Baltacha, who was British number one for nearly three years and retired in November 2013, learned she had liver cancer in January 2014 – two months after retiring and only a few weeks after marrying her former coach Severino.