Baltacha finished the season by reaching the quarter-finals of the $75,000 (£45,000) event in Japan, in her first competition since her semi-final finish at the $50,000 (£30,000) event in St. Raphael in October.
 

The 26-year-old regains the top British female ranking after last occupying the position in 2005, when she reached the third round of the Australian Open.
 

She said: "I’m going to finish the year in the 80s [world ranking] and I'm British number one.

 

"The year has just finished very well for me.

"Now I really want to get stuck into the pre-season and really start the year injury free and in a positive manner."

Baltacha now leads the way for British women, closely followed by Katie O'Brien and Anne Keothavong.
 

O'Brien has also enjoyed an extremely successful year, previously holding the British number one ranking and achieving her highest world ranking of number 88 earlier this month.
 

O'Brien won the AEGON Player of the Month award twice in 2009 after strong performances at the $75,000  (£45,00) AEGON Pro-Series in Shrewsbury, which saw her finish as runner-up before going on to reach the semi-finals of the $100,000 (£60,000) event in Tokyo.
 

Despite enduring a frustrating end of year due to a knee injury, Keothavong also still holds a place in the world top 100 and achieved a career high ranking of number 48 in February.