How rising star Gabriella Taylor left ‘poison plot’ in the past

Walking through the hallowed gates of Wimbledon to play the main draw for the first time would be a dream come true for any young tennis player, let alone one born in Great Britain.

Gabriella Taylor, though, could be forgiven for feeling a degree of trepidation when she arrives at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club this morning ahead of her first round match against Eugenie Bouchard, a finalist here in 2014, even if her star has since fallen somewhat from those giddy heights.

Taylor’s last visit to Wimbledon, in the girls’ competition in 2016, did not exactly end happily. In one of the more extraordinary episodes in the 141-year history of The Championships, the then 18-year-old was forced pull out of her quarter-final match with illness.

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Taylor ended up spending four days in intensive care at Southampton General Hospital, suffering multiple organ failure and very nearly dying of leptospirosis or Weil’s Disease.

Even more extraordinarily, it later emerged - in an exclusive story in The Daily Telegraph - that Scotland Yard was investigating claims of “poisoning with intent to endanger life or cause GBH” following complaints made by Taylor’s own parents, who were adamant their daughter could not have contracted the disease, which is typically spread by rat urine, accidentally. No charges were ever brought but the incident remains a mystery.

Two years on, and having battled back to full health and a top 200 ranking, Taylor is understandably wary about re-living the episode, especially on the eve of the biggest tournament of her career. The last thing she needs – having been granted a wildcard by the Wimbledon committee (for which she says she is “hugely thankful”) – is fresh headlines about an alleged poisoning at SW19. And when we meet, at last week’s ITF tournament in Southsea, her mother Milena, and her agent both hover nearby, clearly anxious about the direction in which the interview might head.

They need not have worried. Taylor herself is impressively assured. She accepts the fact that it was big news at the time and that questions over the next week or two are inevitable.

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But she has a prepared answer from which she will not deviate. “Anyone can say what they want to say,” she says. “I’m not going to object to any questions [from media]. But I’ve moved on from that time of my life. It doesn’t distract me anymore. I’m just focusing on what I need to do on and off the court.”

Does she still believe there was any malicious intent behind the incident? “Honestly I don’t think about it,” she insists. “Obviously it was unfortunate to end up in hospital. But it has driven me to work even harder and to focus on achieving what I want to achieve. It’s something that is now out of my mind. People can say what they want, or they can ask me, but I’m always going to say the same thing: I want to move forward. I’m focusing on my new goals.”

That focus will no doubt be tested against Bouchard, although Taylor says she is heading into her first-round clash with bags of confidence and “zero pressure” after what has been a breakthrough season to date.

The 20 year-old, who was born in Southampton to an English father and a Bulgarian mother, won three tournaments at the start of the year to climb from 323 to a career-high 175.

She credits that success to an overhaul of her coaching team, with Javier Budo - who previously took Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro to the world’s top 10 - and David Sunyer guiding her since last November from their base in Barcelona.

“They’ve really helped me change my mindset,” she says, sitting in the sunshine on the south coast after a practice session with Sunyer. “I’ve been competing really hard, playing my best tennis. Tennis is 90 per cent mental. You really have to focus a lot on the mental side of things, not just aspects of your game. It’s the most important thing out there.”

The 20 year-old talks a lot about focus and concentration and discipline. But she is easy company. Half English (her Dad hails from Newcastle), and half Bulgarian (her mother played tennis at Uni), she talks about how her parents met at a pizzeria in Plovdiv when her father was there for work. “But I don’t want to talk too much about their love story,” she adds laughing.

She recounts how she was spotted at the David Lloyd Southampton at the age of four, how she won a regional tournament at the age of seven and was rewarded with a trip to Trafalgar Square where she got to play an exhibition event with Boris Becker and Tim Henman. A video from that day still exists, incorporated into a video Taylor has posted on her social media channels. “I would like to win Wimbledon,” the small girl says to the camera.

“That was my first ‘greatest moment of my life’,” she says. “From that moment, I think it made me want to become the greatest player I can. Top 10 in the world.” Only top 10? “Top one!” she laughs. “S---. You can put top one there!”

Time will tell but she is moving in the right direction. Taylor’s successful start to this season was rewarded with a first Fed Cup call-up in April for the play-off tie in Japan, an experience she describes as “magical” albeit she did not actually get to play, captain Anne Keothavong pulling her from the doubles at the last minute in favour of her top pairing of Johanna Konta and Heather Watson.

“It was still great,” she says, recounting with glee how she drew 2-2 with Konta in a practice match. “That gave me a lot of confidence, getting out on court with a top-10 player. Even just to take two games.”

Ultimately, she says, she is just happy to be back fit and playing the sport she loves. Two years ago she could barely walk after “great chunks” of flesh peeled off her feet during her time in hospital.

“It took a toll on my body,” she concedes. “But I started again from scratch. I got stronger. And to be honest it helped me to become stronger as a person. Honestly I can’t wait to get out there. I’ve had so much support, for which I’m thankful. I’m still young. This is only the beginning."