Armed with a healthy body, a lucky charm and a growing sense of self belief, Australian Casey Dellacqua has set her sights beyond the top 30 next year.

Dellacqua’s career was on the brink a few years ago when she slumped to 1004th in the world following a series of debilitating foot and shoulder injuries.

At that stage, the 29-year-old was unsure whether her body would allow her to play at the elite level again, or whether she would be able to match it with the world’s best even if she could return to full fitness.

But all those doubts have since been snuffed out following a strong 2014 campaign.

A fit-and-firing Dellacqua is now a rising force on the women’s tour after shooting up to 29th in the world rankings, with appearances in the round of 16 at both the Australian Open and US Open proving she can cause some damage at the majors.

The West Australian said she was proud of her recent efforts, and hoped to back them up next year.

“I’ve just had a really good year and I’m starting to believe in myself a lot more that I can compete with those girls on a weekly basis,” Dellacqua said on Monday.

“At this time last year I was ranked 210 in the world and wasn’t really sure where I was at.

“But I made a commitment to work hard and play a lot of singles and work as hard as I could.

“Next year’s going to be tough because I’ve got a lot of points to defend, but it’s another challenge for me and I’m really happy that the body is good.

“Obviously I would love to stay top 30 and take that ranking higher, so we’ll see where we go.”

Dellacqua, who will team up with Nick Kyrgios for January’s Hopman Cup, said her baby boy Blake had given her a new perspective on the ups and downs of tennis.

“Since Blake came along, I have had a pretty good 12 months, so he’s my lucky charm,” Dellacqua said.

“I don’t go home at night and worry too much about my match, because I have to change Blake’s nappy and make sure he has his bottle and he’s ready for bed.”

With her body now holding up, Dellacqua has been able to take her training to a new level with MMA-style fighting and cross training.

Meanwhile, Tennis Australia announced on Monday it had secured a five-year sponsorship deal with Emirates Airline for the Australian Open and its lead-in events.