HomeNewsBlack Country News
Tennis mascot Emily loses cancer battle
A BRAVE girl who touched the heart of tennis star Maria Sharapova has lost a four-year battle with cancer.
Emily Bailes, from Bloxwich, in Walsall, died earlier this week aged nine.
The youngster was diagnosed with kidney cancer just months before she was asked to perform the coin toss before the women's final between Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.
And after Sharapova claimed her first Grand Slam victory, the Russian star adopted Emily as her lucky mascot and invited her back to watch her play the following year.
She also helped switch on the Walsall Christmas lights with Brownhills supermodel Erin O'Connor in 2006.
Emily, a Lower Farm Primary School pupil, had been undergoing chemotherapy, but died on Saturday.
The funeral will take place on Monday at 1pm at All Saint's Church, in High Street, Bloxwich, followed by a burial at North Walsall Cemetery and a service at the Village Hotel.
Copyright and Trade Mark Notice © 2008 owned by or licensed to Midland Newspapers Limited. Birmingham Mail™ is a trade mark of Midland Newspapers Limited. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Statement before using this site.