Gabi Taylor’s tennis dreams are back on track after the illness she suffered at Wimbledon last summer that left her in intensive care and led to allegations of poisoning.

Taylor, 19, was having her best run in the junior tournament at the All England Club, reaching the quarter-finals.

But she was struggling with what was initially thought to be food poisoning and then, when she developed a high temperature, a virus.

Taylor was forced to retire during the second set of her clash with American Kayla Day and her condition continued to worsen.

The following day she was admitted to hospital and spent five days in intensive care, where she was eventually diagnosed with the bacterial infection Leptospirosis.

The illness, which in rare cases can be fatal, is spread by animals, and Taylor’s parents reported the matter to the police after suspecting her drink may have been spiked.

But the investigation has drawn a blank, and Taylor said: “It’s a total mystery. No-one knows what happened exactly.

“Obviously it left me in a critical state but I’m very happy to still be here and doing the thing I love the most.”

The teenager gradually recovered and was able to begin playing tournaments again four months later.

Taylor has worked hard to put the experience behind her, telling Press Association Sport: “It was a bit of an obstacle in my career but I managed to overcome that.

“Obviously it took a bit of time. I tried to come back, then I had to stop, and then I tried again. I was out for three to four months but I didn’t let it ruin my dream and what I want to achieve.

“I just really put my head down and worked and worked and tried to stay positive. It was quite serious for me but I had lots of lovely messages and that really helped a lot.”

Taylor, from Southampton, has made good progress since returning to the tour and won the biggest title of her career in South Korea last month.

She is Britain’s highest-ranked teenager at 307 and should dip inside the top 300 after beating Lesley Kherkove in the opening round of the Aegon Manchester Trophy on Wednesday.

“Physically I’m feeling great,” she said. “I’m feeling in top shape at the moment. It’s obviously a very important month and I’ll just try to do the best I can. I feel fresh and I can’t wait for the next matches.”

Taylor stands a very good chance of being awarded a wild card for Wimbledon, and is confident returning to the All England Club will not prove too traumatic.

“Every time I go to Wimbledon or play any of the grass tournaments in England I really love it,” she said.

“I love being home and having the crowd support really helping you out there. It’s going to be something that this year I just have to forget about it and really focus on what I want to be doing.”